


Anything to Find Her

by CIandSVUcrazy



Category: Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Genre: Crime Fighting, Crimes & Criminals, F/M, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-02
Updated: 2014-05-27
Packaged: 2018-01-21 15:45:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 39
Words: 81,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1555646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CIandSVUcrazy/pseuds/CIandSVUcrazy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bobby and Alex are married and have one daughter. They think that they have everything they wanted until their lives become unrecognizable when their daughter is kidnapped. They swear they would do anything to find her, but how far will they really go?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Kidnapped

**Prologue**

 

Alex stroked the little girl’s hair gently. Bobby had his arms wrapped around her, looking down at the little girl in her arms. Their daughter, Rebecca. It was still amazing for them to look at their child, their daughter, and know that she was really there, and really theirs. They would both die to protect her, in a heartbeat, without question. 

Alex would have liked to stay curled up like that forever, but she slowly stood up, and climbed the stairs to their daughter’s bedroom. Bobby followed with one hand on the small of her back. 

Rebecca was nestled comfortably in her mother’s arms, her little face pressed against her mother’s chest, her mouth open slightly. Alex placed her gently in her crib, and pulled a blanket over her. She leaned in and placed a kiss gently on the baby’s cheek. “Goodnight baby girl,” she whispered. 

Bobby also leaned in to give the baby a kiss. “We love you,” he added. 

Together, Bobby and Alex left the room, her head resting on his chest. At first they had thought that losing their jobs at the Major Case Squad had been a bad thing. But, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. 

Distraught after firing her partner, Alex had gone to his apartment after leaving 1PP. She had been standing on his doorstep with tears running down her face, just saying over and over again “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

Bobby had pulled her into his arms, while she confessed that she had decided not to take the captain’s job. 

He had pulled back and looked at her, insisting that she should. She had shaken her head, and said she didn’t want it if this was what it was going to be like, feeling like she did.   
To her surprise, he had leaned in to kiss her, silencing her tears. After the sweetest kiss she had ever experienced, he pulled away, and apologized, saying he understood if she was upset. He had confessed later that he thought she was going to punch him, but it was worth it, to kiss her one time. 

However, they didn’t kiss just once. She pushed her way into his apartment, threw her arms around him, and confessed her feelings for him. He couldn’t believe that she felt the same way as he had, all these years. That was the first night they made love. It was also when they decided that nothing was more important to either of them than each other.   
After that night, since Bobby and Alex no longer worked together, they had started a relationship. They were married the following year. Now they lived in a house together just outside Manhattan. They had a beautiful daughter. Bobby had been recruited by the FBI after he left Major Case; Alex stayed home with the baby, but she was planning to return to her position with a computer crimes unit. It was the best thing for them that they had stopped working together. 

**Chapter One – Kidnapped**

 

Alex pulled out of the parking lot of the daycare. She had just picked Rebecca up after leaving work. 

“Mommy, Davie stuck a carrot up his nose today,” four-year-old Rebecca piped up from her car seat in the back of the SUV. “Mrs. Harding told him to pull it out, and there were boogers on it! And then, Gina dared him to eat it, but Mrs. Harding made him put it in the garbage,” she finished with a wide grin. 

“That is disgusting Becky,” Alex said, trying not to grin. 

“But it was funny,” Rebecca replied, giggling. 

Alex shook her head, and listened to Rebecca chatter the whole way home. 

 

Alex grinned at Bobby, who was standing on the front steps of their house. He must have gotten off of work early today. 

“Daddy!” Rebecca called, sliding out of the vehicle and racing towards Bobby. 

Bobby crouched down, opening his arms for the little girl. 

In that picture perfect moment, no one could have guessed what would happen next. Bobby was reaching for his daughter, Alex was looking on with a smile, and Rebecca no more than ten feet from either of them. 

Then, a masked figure came racing out from behind their house, arms wrapping around Rebecca and lifting her off the ground. 

“Becky!” Alex and Bobby screamed, racing after the mask-clad figure. 

“Daddy!” Rebecca cried, her arms reaching for Bobby. 

Both Bobby and Alex raced after the figure. But he had reached a van parked on the road. 

“Mommy, Daddy, HELP ME!” Rebecca screamed, tears streaming down her face while she flailed in her captor’s arms. 

The door to the van slammed shut, and the tires squealed as it peeled away from the curb. 

Bobby made it close enough to slam his hand on the van before it sped away. Pumping his legs faster than he ever had, he raced after the van. But it turned the corner, and disappeared. 

He continued racing in the direction it had gone, hopelessly trying to find it again. 

He turned around and ran back in the direction of the house. 

As he neared the house he heard a sound that would have made his hair stand on end if it wasn’t already. Someone was screaming. No, not screaming. Wailing. A terrible wailing was echoing in the empty air. 

As he neared his house, he saw Alex curled up on the front lawn. She was on her knees, with her torso resting on her legs. She was rocking back and forth and wailing.   
Neighbors were starting to poke their heads out of their doors, trying to locate the sound. 

Bobby rushed to his wife and wrapped his arms around her. Her wailing stopped and she looked up at him with wide eyes bright with unshed tears. She was unable to cry.   
He stood up, pulling her small frame up with him easily. “We have to call 911,” he told her. She nodded, and pulled away from him, heading in the direction of the house. 

 

“What’s up captain?” Detective Kevin Kirk asked as his captain walked towards him with a frown. 

“We have a kidnapping – four- year-old girl,” the captain replied. “There’s a lot of pressure on this one guys, the victim is the daughter of an FBI agent and a cop.”

“Do we know the parents?” Kirk’s partner Joshua Mendel asked. 

“I don’t think any of us know them, Robert Goren and Alexandra Eames, formerly of the Major Case Squad,” the captain answered. “Agent Goren works at the New York office of the FBI now, and Detective Eames works in computer crimes.” 

“I’ve heard of him, didn’t the Chief of D’s call him a whack job?” Mendel asked. 

“It doesn’t matter, all that matters is they were both cops, and their daughter has been kidnapped. Get over there,” the captain said.

 

“Langley and Fisher are questioning the neighbors, hoping to find witnesses,” Kirk told Mendel. “They have an amber alert out on Rebecca Goren, but so far none of the calls to the tip line have panned out. There’s a trace ready on the home phone and the cell phone of both parents in case they get a ransom demand.” 

“We need to question the parents,” Mendel said. Kirk nodded in agreement. The two detectives approached the kitchen, where Bobby was pacing restlessly, and Alex was sitting in a chair, completely still and staring at the wall. 

Even if there had been people in the room besides the parents the detectives would have been able to pick them out. The man was pacing, with an angry look on his face and he seemed to be deep in thought. The woman sat in a chair, her blank eyes staring at something the rest of them couldn’t see, frozen. 

“Agent Goren, Detective Eames?” Kirk asked. 

Bobby rushed over. Alex shook her head, as if to clear it, and then slowly got up from her chair and walked over to the detectives. 

“You’re the detectives on Rebecca’s case?” Bobby asked. 

Kirk nodded. “Kevin Kirk, my partner, Josh Mendel,” he said, indicating Mendel. 

“Do you have any leads, do you know anything, are there any hints about who might have done this or why…” Bobby sputtered.  
“We need to ask you some questions,” Kirk interrupted. 

“I know,” Bobby replied. “So ask.”

“Can you tell us what happened?” Mendel asked. 

“He just took her! I wanted to get her, but I couldn’t save her…couldn’t protect my own daughter…” Bobby continued to repeat this over and over “Couldn’t save her…my own daughter…” 

“Robert, please try to calm down, we need to get your statement in order to find your daughter,” Kirk said, remembering too late that this man was an FBI agent as well as a father, and probably wouldn’t appreciate being addressed by his first name. 

“Bobby,” Alex said, speaking for the first time. 

“Excuse me?” Kirk asked. 

“No one calls him Robert, his name is Bobby,” Alex said, her eyes still unfocused. 

“Alright then,” Kirk said gently. “Bobby, can you tell us what happened?” 

Bobby started shaking, tears filled his eyes. Alex rested her hand on his arm. “It’s alright Bobby,” she said. “I can tell them. You can get them a picture of…of Rebecca.”   
Though each handled their shock and grief differently, they knew how to be there for each other. 

Bobby nodded and left the room. Alex forced her mind to shift into cop mode, distancing herself as much as she could. 

“I had just come home from picking Rebecca up at daycare,” Alex started. Kirk and Mendel pulled out their notebooks. “Bobby was home from work early, he was at the front door watching for us. I opened the car door for Rebecca and she went to meet Bobby. She couldn’t have been further than ten feet from either of us.” Alex shook her head, tears threatening to escape, but she held them back. “Then a man in a mask grabbed her and took her to a van that was waiting at the curb.” 

“Can you describe the man?” Kirk asked. 

“He was…5’7’’ maybe 150 pounds,” Alex said. “He was wearing all black, including the ski mask.” 

“What about the vehicle?” Mendel asked. 

“It was a white van, no markings, the windows were painted over.”

“And did the kidnapper get into the driver’s seat?” Mendel asked. 

“No, someone opened the back doors of the van so that the...kidnapper could get in, and then the van drove away. There must have been three people involved,” she muttered at the end, almost to herself. 

“Did you happen to-”

“I didn’t see the license plate,” Alex said before Kirk could finish asking the question. 

“Did you?” Mendel asked Bobby as he came back into the room. 

“The first letter was B, the numbers were 4501,” Bobby said. “I remember, because I married Alex on the fourth day of the fifth month and we have one child,” Bobby said. “Those were definitely the numbers.” 

Mendel raised his eyebrows at Kirk. A terrified father thought to check the license plate? But then again, he was an FBI agent. Both detectives jotted down the number. Mendel excused himself and left the room, calling the captain to give him the license plate. 

“Here,” Bobby said, and handed a photo of Rebecca to Kirk. It was one Alex had taken just three days before. Rebecca had been dressed up in a princess costume, tiara and all. She grinned widely up at the camera. Bobby stared at the photo until Kirk turned it to face him, looking at the little girl. 

“Do either of you have any idea who could have done this?”

“Well, we’ve both arrested plenty of people, but no one stands out,” Alex replied, and glanced at Bobby. He shook his head. 

“Maybe someone you know? Someone personal?”

“I don’t think so,” Bobby replied, frustrated that he couldn’t be more helpful. 

“All right, that’s everything. Do you have anyone you can call?” Kirk asked. 

“I can call my sister,” Alex said. “But I’d rather be alone, here, just in case someone calls, and you can reach us right away if you get any leads,” Alex said, her eyes meeting Kirk’s for the first time. 

Kirk nodded. If he was in her situation, he could only imagine what he would do. He knew that he wouldn’t call anyone either – there’s nothing anyone can do.


	2. Working the Case

Alex and Bobby sat next to each other on the couch, not quite touching. All the cops had left, and both of the detectives had left their cards with the Gorens. Bobby’s leg was twitching, he wanted to get up and do something, but there wasn’t anything he could do. He knew that. 

Alex still wasn’t quite sure how to react. It didn’t seem real. Her baby couldn’t possibly be gone. She was still at daycare, or she was in her bedroom sleeping. That was all. Alex was tempted to go upstairs and check Rebecca’s room, just to make sure it wasn’t all some terrible mistake. But logically, she knew that it had happened, it was real. 

Then the phone rang. Alex shot off the couch and snatched it up. 

“Hello?” she asked, breathless. 

“Detective Eames,” the voice said. “Is Detective Goren there? Put the phone on speaker, I want both of you to hear this,” the voice said. 

Bobby pulled out his cell phone and texted the detectives on his daughter’s case. 

“Alright we’re here,” Alex said. “What do you want?” 

“I want both of you to suffer, just as you made others suffer,” the voice said. 

“Let us talk to Rebecca,” Alex insisted. 

“No.”

“Then how do we know you really have her there? How do we know you’re not lying?” Alex asked. 

Silence. Then, “She says she sleeps with a bear named Wrinkles that her aunt gave to her when she was a baby.”

Alex gasped, and Bobby grabbed her hand. “We still want to talk to her,” Bobby said. “We want to make sure she’s okay.” 

“No. We play by my rules.” 

“Okay, tell us what you want,” Bobby said. “Anything, you can have it.” 

“I want – what the hell!” There was banging on the other end of the phone. Then a gunshot. Then silence. 

“He hung up,” Alex gasped. 

“What the hell is going on?” Bobby demanded. 

 

“Did we get a trace on the phone call?” Kirk asked. 

“Yes…just give me a moment…” the man from TARU replied. The computer screen continued to zoom in on a red dot on the map. “86th street,” the man said, printing out the address that Mendel grabbed on his way out. 

 

“NYPD!” Kirk and Mendel shouted as they smashed through the door. 

“Kirk!” Mendel called, pointing into the next room. A man lay on the floor, moaning and bleeding. 

Kirk ran up to him. “Call a bus!” he heard his partner cry.

“Where is Rebecca?” Kirk demanded. “Where is she?” 

“Gone,” the man gasped. 

“Gone where, where did they take her?” Kirk demanded. 

“I…don’t…know,” the man gasped. 

“Yes you do, you know where she went. Now tell me where she is!” 

“G..gone. I don’t know where they took her. The freak just came in and shot me.”

“Who? Who shot you?”

“The guy that…hired me…to snatch the…brat.”

“That child has a name! Her name is Rebecca, she’s four years old, and she needs to go back to her parents! Last chance, where did they take her?”

“I don’t know!”

The paramedics burst into the room and began assessing the man. Kirk backed away and rejoined Mendel. “I don’t think he knows where she is,” Kirk said, shaking his head. 

“He probably was just hired guns for the real perp, considering the gunshot wound to the chest,” Mendel agreed. “The perp must not have wanted him to be able to finger him for Rebecca’s kidnap.”

“Damn it, this guy better be able to identify the guy who hired him, otherwise we have no leads, nothing to help us find Rebecca,” Kirk said. 

 

“What happened?” Alex demanded as soon as she opened the door. “Did you find Rebecca?”

“No, I’m sorry,” Kirk said. 

Alex visibly deflated, growing smaller in front of Kirk’s own eyes, curling in on herself. 

“What did you find?” Bobby asked, his arms wrapping around his wife. 

“The man that we arrested, the one who made the ransom call, he was hired by someone,” Kirk said. 

“Who?” Alex asked. 

“We don’t know, he’s in surgery right now, we’re waiting for him to wake up so that we can talk to him,” Kirk replied. 

“Let me talk to him,” Bobby said, stepping forward. 

“You know we can’t let you do that,” Kirk said as gently as possible. 

“That would break procedure,” Alex said. Kirk nodded. “But this is our daughter, I don’t care about protocol, I want to find her, we have to find her! Let us talk to him!” 

“I’m sorry,” Kirk said.

“We get it,” Alex said, her voice calmer. “We’re cops, we understand why you have to do what you have to do,” she said. “But you don’t understand. Unless you have kids, you have no idea,” she said. 

“I’m sorry,” was all Kirk could think of to say, even though it was no comfort to Alex and Bobby at all. He knew it wasn’t, because he had his own small daughter at home, and he knew nothing would comfort him in the least. 

 

“Okay scum, you’re going to tell us everything you know,” Kirk said. 

“Not unless I get a deal!” the man replied. 

“You’re going to jail for the rest of your life!” Kirk shouted. “Give us something and maybe you’ll see the light of day again!” 

“Get me a lawyer, get me a deal in writing, and then maybe I’ll tell you something,” the man insisted. “How’s that?” 

“How’s this!” Kirk exclaimed, advancing towards the hospital bed with his fist ready. 

“Kirk!” Mendel snapped, grabbing his arm. “Don’t do it. This scum isn’t worth the paperwork.”

Kirk struggled to regain his composure. “You better pray we find Rebecca, alive, or you’re never going to see the light of day again.”

 

“Our guy is Zack Allen, 24, with a rap sheet a mile long. Mostly drug charges, but some minor assaults, harassment, and an attempted robbery,” Mendel announced. 

“So we’re fairly confident that this guy is just hired guns for the real perp?” the captain asked. 

“Yeah, this guy doesn’t have the brains to organize the abduction alone,” Kirk replied. 

“Found the getaway vehicle, belongs to a Travis Hamilton. He’s gotten caught stealing with his brother Garry,” another detective announced as he walked into the room. “Both brothers are into drugs, like Mr. Allen.” 

“The accomplices in the van,” Mendel said with a nod. 

“We need to get Zack to tell us who hired him,” Kirk said. 

“He might not know,” Mendel pointed out. 

“Go find out,” their captain instructed. 

Kirk and Mendel went to do as they were instructed, but were stopped by the appearance of Bobby and Alex. 

“Agent, Detective,” the captain said. “Any news and we would have called.” 

But Bobby and Alex weren’t paying attention to the captain. They had seen Kirk and Mendel heading towards the interrogation room. 

“Let us talk to the suspect,” Bobby insisted, wasting no time with formalities. 

Alex didn’t speak, but Kirk recognized the look on her face from his own wife, Carol. That was an expression she wore when she was determined to fight for their daughter. Kirk didn’t doubt Alex’s determination for a second. 

“Agent Goren, you know we can’t do that,” Mendel said. 

“We’ve done many interrogations, we know the procedure,” Alex insisted. 

“I’m sure you’re very able interrogators,” Mendel said, trying to appease them, “but you know that we can’t let you do this. You’re not the detectives on this case, you’re Rebecca’s parents.”

“He’s not the one who has Rebecca now,” Kirk clarified. “He was hired by someone who has Rebecca now.”

This didn’t dissuade either of the parents. “Let us talk to him,” Bobby insisted again. “We can get through to him.” 

“That is not going to happen,” the captain said. He had just walked over. “The time we spend out here convincing you to leave is time we are wasting that could be better spent questioning the suspect. Is that really what you want?”

“You can watch the interrogation,” Kirk offered. His captain frowned at him – it was not his place to make that offer. But it worked, Bobby and Alex were nodding. They would have fought harder to question him themselves, but the captain was right, they didn’t want to waste time. 

The captain led them into his office where they could watch Kirk and Mendel question Zack Allen. 

 

“Five years, custodial interference.”

“No way,” the ADA told the defense attorney. “Your client pleads guilty to the charge of kidnapping, serves ten to fifteen with the chance of parole after seven, on the condition he tells us everything he knows. Any stunts, and the deal is off the table, we go after your client for the max.” 

The lawyer exchanged a glance with his client. After a slight hesitation, the man nodded. 

“Okay, who hired you?” Mendel asked. 

“I don’t know,” Zack Allen replied. “I only ever spoke to him on the phone.” 

“How did he pay you then?” Kirk demanded. “He did pay you, right? I’m sure you would never have agreed to kidnap the daughter of a cop and an FBI agent without the money.”

“He left cash in a bag in Central Park for me to pick up,” Zack replied. “He didn’t want me to know who he was.” 

“And what was the plan after you kidnapped Rebecca?” Mendel asked.

“I was supposed to make a ransom demand. This was supposed to be a strict ransom, I had no idea he was going to come and get the kid!” 

“On the phone, you said that you wanted them to suffer, as they had made others suffer. Why did you say that?”

“He told me to say that. Then I was supposed to ask for fifty thousand bucks, and arrange the exchange! I have never hurt a child, check my sheet! I just needed the cash, you know? The kid was supposed to go back to her parents, no harm done!” 

“No harm done?” Kirk asked, disgusted. 

“Where’s the cash now?” Mendel asked. He knew it would be best to stop Kirk before he got too angry, as he often did with cases involving children. Zack looked down at the table in silence. “I doubt you hid it very well, we’ll find it, and then you lose the deal; the deal requires full co-operation.” 

“It’s at my house, under my bed,” Zack replied reluctantly. 

“Under your bed?” Kirk asked in disbelief. “What are you, five?” 

“My client didn’t agree to be insulted, detective, any more lines like that and I’ll file harassment charges,” the lawyer said. “I’m sure you don’t need any more of those.” 

Kirk glared at the lawyer before turning back to Zack. “How much did he pay you?” 

“Ten thousand, then I was supposed to get another twenty from the ransom.” 

“What even made you think that they could afford to pay?” Mendel asked. 

Zack shrugged. “The dude said they would pay.” 

Kirk and Mendel exchanged glances. The expression ‘they would pay’ could be taken in more than one way. 

“How were you supposed to collect the ransom?”

“I was supposed to direct one of the parents with a prepaid cell phone, only give them instructions, and not tell them the final location until they get there. Then tell them to leave the money in a suitcase in the back of the van. Then I would come out of hiding, shove the kid at them, hop in the van, and make a break for it. Like I said, the kid was supposed to go back to her parents safely.” 

“And once you had the money, how were you supposed to get the money to ‘the dude’?” Kirk asked.

I was supposed to leave it the same way that I got the first amount. The guy knows who I am, he said if I didn’t pay up with all he was supposed to get, he would find me. But I figured, with thirty grand I don’t need to steal from his share, and I certainly don’t want him coming after me!” 

“Do you have a way to contact the man that hired you?” Mendel asked.

“No, he always called me.” 

“Okay, that’ll be all for now.”

“What a dumbass,” Mendel muttered to Kirk as he shut the door. “He should have realized things wouldn’t go as planned, what kind of guy pays the hired guns more than his own share of the ransom? Not to mention the plan wouldn’t have worked, he would have gotten caught trying to get away with the money.”

“Mr. Allen isn’t known for his intelligence,” Kirk commented. 

Kirk and Mendel walked out of the interrogation room and met up with the captain, Bobby, and Alex who had been watching through the two-way mirror.

“We should dump the incoming calls on his phone,” Bobby suggested. 

“Then check and see what the crime scene guys found at the scene,” Alex ordered. “We’ve got to find this guy ASAP.”

“We will not be doing anything,” Mendel said angrily. He didn’t take well to some big-shot FBI agent and a cop from another unit thinking they could give him orders. But Kirk, thinking of his own daughter, knew that their only agenda was to find their daughter, not step on any toes. 

“We’ll do that,” Kirk told them seriously, ignoring the disgruntled look on his partner’s face. “But you need to go back home.”

Both Alex and Bobby looked like they were going to argue, but Kirk silenced them by saying, “You need to be there in case this guy tries to call again.”


	3. Emotions Run High

Nothing had come up. The guy who had taken Rebecca was a ghost. Bobby and Alex hadn’t slept since Rebecca was kidnapped two days ago. They knew that the detectives assigned to Rebecca’s case, Kirk and Mendel, had been working tirelessly to try and find Rebecca, but they had come up empty. 

“I can’t take this!” Bobby shouted, startling Alex who had been sitting next to him on the couch. “I’m going to look for her!”

“What are you going to do, wander aimlessly and hope to come across a lead?” Alex snapped.

“I’m not just going to sit here and do nothing!” Bobby retorted. He stepped into a pair of shoes and headed for the door. 

“Bobby, that won’t do any good, you’re not going to find her this way!”

Bobby ignored her, and reached for the door. 

“Don’t!” Alex insisted, grabbing his arm. He threw her hand off violently, and realized his mistake too late. He faced her and saw that her eyes were flashing dangerously. 

“Alex-”

“DON’T!” she screamed, stepping back. “Get out then, go! I don’t want you here! If you think you can make up for losing her by wandering the streets then go!”

Bobby’s temper flared and he stepped towards her, drawing himself up to his full and considerable height. “Lose her! I didn’t lose her! She was kidnapped Alex, there was nothing I could do!”

“You were right there!” Alex accused. Unafraid, she stepped right up to him and craned her neck to look him in the eyes. 

“So were you!” Bobby countered. “Why didn’t you do something then?”

“She called for you!” Alex shouted. “She called for you and you didn’t rescue her!”

Bobby stepped back, losing his aggressive stance as his anger gave way to grief. “I know,” he replied, scarcely more than a whisper. “I know she did; I heard her. I still hear her,” he said with a small shudder, closing his eyes. Rebecca’s screams had echoed in his head ever since she was kidnapped. 

Alex, seeing Bobby’s response, knew that she had taken it too far. Her anger also left her, giving way to guilt. 

“Bobby,” she said. He turned his back on her and stumbled towards the living room instead. 

“Bobby, please,” Alex said desperately. “Bobby I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it.” She had reached the living room and was looking at his back, her eyes filled with tears. “I’m so sorry,” she said tearfully. “Please, Bobby, please look at me.”

She knew better than to go over to him when he was so upset. She had to wait for him to come to her. 

Slowly, Bobby turned around. Alex saw that he was gripping a framed family photograph tightly. 

“Bobby,” she repeated. “I didn’t mean it.”

“I know,” he replied. There was a pause. “It’s normal for parents to fight when their child is kidnapped.”

Alex felt a lick of anger that he was profiling her, but she let it go. He was just trying to use his knowledge to make sense of what was happening, she knew. 

“I’m sorry,” she said again. 

“I’m sorry too,” Bobby said, looking up and meeting her eyes again. He glanced down to stare intently at the photograph in his hand before he set it back in its place and opened his arms. Alex fell into them, and they gripped each other tightly. She, Bobby, and Rebecca smiled happily at her from the photograph, as though mocking the terrible situation they were in now.

 

Kirk and Mendel were sitting at their desks going through old case files from Goren and Eames when they were partners in MCS. 

“Money is not a problem for this guy… he knew he was going to take Rebecca and he still gave Zack Allen ten grand…” Mendel muttered to himself, repeating what he and Kirk had brainstormed over two hours ago. “Whoever it was called both of them detective, so either they didn’t bother to check if they were still partners, or they did out of habit, because they knew them. Either of those scenarios points to someone they’ve arrested… someone with a grudge they’ve held on to for years…”

“Mendel,” Kirk said. 

“What?” Mendel replied.

“Shut up.”

Mendel grumbled something unintelligible, but resumed checking files silently. 

“Kirk, Mendel!” their captain celled. Both detectives looked up from the files they were going through. 

“These are agents Thompson and Bole. They’d like to have a word with you.”

Kirk and Mendel exchanged glances. Mendel didn’t look impressed – perhaps he thought they were FBI buddies of Goren’s sent to make sure they were doing their jobs. This, however, was not what they had come to do.

“Detectives Kirk and Mendel, you are working the Goren kidnapping case?” one of them asked. 

“Yes,” Mendel replied suspiciously. 

“We think we’ve found her.” He handed over a photograph. It indeed did look like Rebecca Goren, but rather than encourage the detectives, they both felt as though they were going to be sick. 

Kirk reached into his pocket and pulled out the photograph that Bobby had given him. It was hard to compare the two photographs since Rebecca was smiling happily in one, and looking terrified and ill-cared for in the other. 

“That’s her,” Kirk whispered. 

“We will of course be willing to share our information with you, assuming you keep us in the loop,” one of the agents stated briskly. Kirk supposed they dealt with this sort of thing all of the time, but he hadn’t and it was affecting him more than he cared to admit. 

“Someone should confirm this photograph is indeed Rebecca with the parents,” the other agent stated. 

“No,” Kirk said firmly. “No parent deserves to have that image in their heads.”

“We need to be certain that it’s her,” Mendel argued. 

“It is protocol,” one of the agents added. 

“I don’t give a damn about protocol,” Kirk snapped. “I’m telling you, it’ll drive the parents crazy to have this image of their daughter in their heads.”

“Kirk,” Mendel said, “they have to confirm that it’s her. At least it will show them that she’s alive.”

Kirk shook his head vehemently. “You’re not a parent Josh. You don’t know.”

“Alright I don’t know,” Mendel said, losing his patience. “But someone has to confirm that it’s her, and if you don’t want to do it, I can.” He reached to take the photograph from Kirk. 

Kirk pulled it away. “I’ll do it,” he said heavily. 

 

Bobby pulled open the door seconds after Kirk rang the bell. 

“What is it?” he demanded. He took in the look on Kirk’s face, and stepped back. “No,” he gasped. “She’s not-”

“No,” Kirk said firmly. “In fact, we think there might be evidence that she is still alive.”

“What evidence?” Alex asked suspiciously. She didn’t like Kirk’s tone of voice at all. 

“Can you confirm that this is Rebecca?” Kirk asked, reluctantly turning over the photograph. 

Both parents looked down at the photograph for only a moment before reacting. Alex leapt backwards with a whimper that Bobby would never have thought possible of her. Bobby himself was biting his lip hard, trying to remain in control of himself. 

Both Bobby and Alex knew that it was their daughter. But this wasn’t anything they had been hoping to see. Rebecca looked terrified. She looked ill with her pale face and sunken eyes, almost like she hadn’t been eating. Her hair was un-kept and strewn in a frizzy mess around her pale face. But this wasn’t the worst part. Rebecca wasn’t the only one in the photograph. There was a man in the photograph with his back to the camera. His lips were pressed against her in a way that was not fatherly at all. 

“Where?” Bobby asked, his voice cracking. He cleared his throat. “Where did you get this?”

“The FBI’s child cyber-abuse team found it when they discovered a website,” Kirk answered reluctantly. 

“And-” Bobby shook his head sharply, an unreadable expression on his face. “And the… the, uh… website?”

“It was shut down,” Kirk replied. 

“And the people who ran the site?”

“They’ve been apprehended.”

“Rebecca?” Alex asked. 

“They were only distributers; they got their photographs from different producers and other distributers.”

“And the producers?” Bobby barely dared to ask. 

“We’re still searching for them.” Bobby nodded mutely. Kirk wondered if he shouldn’t burden them more, then decided that false hope was worse. 

“They didn’t get Rebecca’s photo from a producer,” he said. “They got it from another distributer. It may prove difficult to find the original source.”

Alex cringed and closed her eyes. Bobby tilted his head sharply to one side, his eyebrows slightly raised, staring at nothing. He shoved the photograph roughly back towards Kirk and shut the door. 

 

“Kevin, how’d it go?” Mendel asked sympathetically.

“Fuck off,” Kirk replied, slamming his locker door shut.

“Jesus, man, I was just asking.”

“Sorry,” Kirk muttered, rubbing his face. “Sorry, Josh, I know you didn’t mean anything with it.” He went over and flopped into his chair. 

“It’s alright,” Mendel replied, but he didn’t ask again. 

“You know,” Kirk said after a while, “Goren and Eames didn’t handle child abuse cases when they were partners.”

“So?” Mendel asked.

“Then why would the kidnapper give Rebecca to a child pornographer?”

“To make them suffer?”

Kirk shook his head. “Killing Rebecca would do that. Holding her hostage and torturing her would do that. The fact that he’s abusing her sexually implies that he gets gratification from that specifically, not just with regard to torturing her parents.”

“That’s disgusting Kirk,” Mendel grunted. 

Kirk ignored him. “If he really is a child molester, and Goren and Eames didn’t handle child abuse cases, do you know what that means?” he demanded. 

Mendel’s eyes widened as he comprehended what Kirk was saying. “The perp isn’t someone they put away.”

“No,” Kirk said angrily. “Making them suffer, making them pay. It was a ruse to distract us. They were never the targets; Rebecca was the target all along! We’ve been looking in the wrong place this whole time! Damn this son of a bitch!”

Kirk slammed his fist into the table. 

“Kevin,” Mendel said. “Maybe you should go home, get some sleep.”

“No!” Kirk exclaimed. “I’m going to catch this bastard.”

“It’s late,” Mendel said. “Thompson and Bole are chasing down the cyber-creeps now, and there really isn’t much we can do without that information anyway.” 

Kirk sighed. Maybe Mendel was right. He would be better off starting fresh in the morning. 

“Fine,” he said. “See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, see you,” Mendel replied, sounding relieved. 

Kirk tried to push the case out of his head on the way home, but the image of Rebecca Goren and her parent’s horrified expressions kept coming back to him. Still, he tried not to look too upset as he parked the car and went into his house. 

There was no fooling his wife. “What’s wrong, Kev?” Carol asked as soon as he walked in. 

“Nothing,” he replied. Carol raised her eyebrows disbelievingly. “Tough case,” Kirk amended. 

Carol nodded sympathetically. “Hurry and come to bed, Kev,” she said. “You look exhausted.”

“I just want to check in on her before I do,” Kirk said. 

“She’s asleep,” Carol replied.

“I know,” Kirk said, “I just want to peek in on her.”

Carol sighed and shrugged. Kirk crept silently to his daughter’s bedroom door and pushed it open just enough so that he could see in. 

His daughter lay in her bed, asleep, unaware that her father was watching. Kirk had been thinking about her throughout the case. She was the same age as Rebecca Goren, and even looked similar. 

Kirk could barely stand to look at the photograph of Rebecca Goren because it made him think of his own daughter. He sympathized with Goren and Eames too much; it might be throwing off his objectivity. 

But, Kirk rationalized, no one wanted to find Rebecca more than he did, which perhaps made him the best detective for the case anyway. 

 

“I can’t take this,” Bobby said. “They’re not going to find her.”

Alex shook her head. “We’ve got to find her ourselves.”

“But how?” Bobby asked. 

Alex frowned, thinking. “Do you have anyone in the FBI you can trust?” 

Bobby thought for a moment. “I think I know someone.”

“Okay then,” Alex said. “I think I have a plan.”


	4. The Plan

“You want me to do what?” Detective Mike Logan asked. He had also transferred from Major Case, before Bobby and Alex did, and now worked homicide. 

“Copy Rebecca’s file,” Alex repeated.

“I can’t do that,” Mike said.

“Mike, please,” Bobby said. “If we go in there, they’ll recognize us, we won’t be able to take the file.”

“Bobby, Alex, you know I want to help,” Mike said. “But I don’t think I can do this, they’ll notice if I try and take the file, Rebecca’s case is still fresh.”

“Do you have any idea what they’re doing to her right now?” Alex demanded, her eyes blazing. 

“No, and I’m sorry-”

“I’ll tell you what they’re doing,” Alex interrupted. “The FBI found a picture of Rebecca, on a child pornography site.”

Mike’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped. “On a… what?”

“You heard me,” Alex snarled.

“Jesus,” Mike muttered. He leaned forward to rest his head against his clenched fists. 

“She’s probably terrified, and alone, and I’ll bet that her only comfort right now is knowing that we’re looking for her!” Alex said angrily. “Mommy and Daddy and Uncle Mike are doing everything they can to find her. Well, Uncle Mike?” Alex asked. “Is she right? Are you going to do everything you can to find her?”

Alex glared furiously at him. Bobby was silent, his eyes pleading Mike to understand. 

“You’ve always been there for me when I needed you,” Mike said finally. “I’ll do whatever I can to help you find Rebecca.”

 

“This is everything they have,” Agent Peters said. 

Bobby worked in a violent crimes unit with the FBI. They all came from different backgrounds and had different expertise. Bobby was a profiler. Peters originally came from the child cyber-abuse team; the same one Thompson and Bole were on now.

“I think, based off of the information the child cyber-abuse team found, we have it narrowed down to the general area, but there’s no way to be sure who exactly is behind it. And there’s have no proof that we’re even right,” Peters warned them. 

“I’m inclined to think that we are right,” Bobby said. “This is where we have to look to find Rebecca. Thank you.”

“Goren,” Peters said, “I trust your judgment. You’re an excellent agent, and I’m sure your wife is a superb detective. But are you sure about this? It could take years to find proof against these people, and even then, there’s a good chance they don’t know where Rebecca is.”

“We have to try,” Alex said firmly. She had just entered the room. She and Peters exchanged nods of acknowledgment. 

“You know we haven’t recovered a child from this group yet,” Peters cautioned. 

“No one has ever been as determined as us,” Alex stated. 

“It’s going to be difficult,” Peters said. “Damn near impossible. If it was only one of you alone, or anyone but you Goren…” Peters trailed off. “I hope you can find strength from each other. Because if you manage to do what you’re going to attempt, the things you see will change you. It will make you angry, and it will make you sick, and it will take away your faith in humanity. It may even make you lose faith in each other. Are you sure you want to do this?”

Bobby and Alex faced each other. Their eyes met, both filled with fierce determination. 

“We’re sure,” Bobby said. “We’ll do anything to find her.”

“You understand why no one has even tried to place any undercovers with this group yet?” Peters tried one more time. “They make their members break the law in order to prove their loyalty. No law enforcement officer could do what it takes to get into this group. Can you really throw away everything you believe in to do this?”

“We’re not going as law enforcement officers,” Alex told him. “We’re going as Rebecca’s parents.”

“That’s going to make it even harder for you,” Peters cautioned. 

“Dan, Tara’s due soon isn’t she?” Bobby asked. 

Peters blinked, but was too used to Bobby to be shocked by this jump in the conversation. “Two months,” he replied. 

“Well, in two months, when you hold your son in your arms for the first time, you tell me that you wouldn’t do the exact same thing,” Bobby said fiercely. 

Peters nodded, convinced that they wouldn’t change their minds. “Good luck Bobby, and Alex. You’ll need it.”

He got up and walked to the front door. “I won’t tell anyone where you’ve gone,” he said. “I just want to make sure you know that. I really hope you find your daughter.”

“I know,” Bobby replied. “I’m the profiler, remember?”

The two men exchanged half-smiles, Bobby’s rather forced. Peters reached for the door handle. 

“Lean on each other,” Peters said. “Don’t let anything come between you. Trust will be of vital importance.”

“Thank you,” Bobby and Alex said together. 

Peters nodded, and left.

 

“They’re gone!” Kirk said.

“Who’s gone?” Mendel asked. 

“Agent Goren and Detective Eames.”

“Are you sure they’re not just sleeping?” Mendel asked. “It’s really late.”

“They’re not sleeping,” Kirk said with certainty. “All the lights were out, and no one answered when I rang the bell. They’re gone to search for their daughter.”

“You don’t think someone else got to them, do you?” Mendel asked. 

Kirk shook his head. “We haven’t found her. They’re done playing by our rules; they’ve gone to look for her themselves.”

“You can’t know that for sure,” Mendel said. 

“I can,” Kirk replied. “It’s what I would do.”

 

“You’re they’re friend, you must know where they are,” Mendel told Mike. Kirk was there reluctantly, he privately agreed with what Goren and Eames had done.

“I have no idea where they are,” Mike said truthfully. 

“Detective Logan, if they get caught committing a crime, and you’re hiding their whereabouts from us, you will be charged as a co-conspirator,” Mendel said harshly. 

Reading Kirk’s resistance to be in the room, Mike turned to face him. “Your partner’s a little dramatic,” Mike said lightly. 

“You copied our file, didn’t you?” Mendel asked, stepping in front of Kirk, who didn’t reply. 

“I’m sure if you could prove it, I’d already be on suspension while you investigated,” Mike said, with a relaxed quality in his voice that irritated Mendel and amused Kirk. 

Just then, the door opened, revealing Kirk and Mendel’s captain. 

“Detective Logan you are free to go.”

“Thanks for the chat guys,” Mike said, getting up. 

“Captain-” Mendel started.

“I don’t want to hear it Mendel,” their captain said. “Detective Logan’s captain is here to assure me that his detective did not commit any crime, and he wants him back for a case. 

Logan left with his captain, giving Mendel a cheery wave over his shoulder. 

“You really shouldn’t do that,” his captain said.

“Do what, sir?” Logan asked. 

His captain just shook his head. 

“Logan?” the captain asked when they reached the privacy of the elevator. “Did you copy that file?”

“Do you really want me to answer that captain?” 

“No, I suppose not,” the captain answered. They had almost reached the ground floor when he added, “For what it’s worth, I think you did the right thing.”

The doors opened before Mike could answer, and they left. The captain never asked Mike about the incident again.

 

“Peters!” Thompson and Bole were headed towards him. Peters stopped and turned around to face them. 

“Thompson, Bole,” he acknowledged. 

“Peters, you told Goren what was in that file, didn’t you?” Bole asked, deciding to skip the formalities. 

“Of course not,” Peters replied. “What makes you think I would?”

“Goren and his wife have disappeared.”

“Gone to search for Rebecca themselves?” Peters asked. “I’m not surprised.”

“You showed them where to look, didn’t you?” Thompson asked. 

“Are you accusing me of interfering with a criminal investigation?” Peters asked coldly. 

Thompson and Bole exchanged nervous glances. Peters was ranked higher in the FBI than both of them. 

“No sir,” Bole amended feebly. 

“Good,” Peters said, and he turned to leave. 

“We just wanted to find out how they knew where to look for their daughter,” Thompson said rather bravely. 

“Well, he couldn’t have copied the file, there is restricted access and he wouldn’t have been able to get in, plus someone would have noticed. The file is not missing, so he didn’t take it. He and his wife are probably just looking wherever they think they can find Rebecca. They are intelligent law enforcement agents, so I doubt they left a trail. I suggest you re-direct your focus to the crimes you’re paid to solve, and leave Goren and Eames alone.”

Thoroughly chastised, Thompson and Bole left, the latter feeling rather guilty. 

Peters walked away with a grim smile on his face. “Good luck,” he whispered to the empty hallway. 

 

“Why hello there!” a simpering voice called. 

Alex turned around to face the person who the voice belonged to, forcing a welcoming smile onto her face. 

“We’re your new neighbors,” the pretty red haired woman said. 

“It’s lovely to meet you,” Alex replied, running a hand through her short black hair. “My husband should be coming out now. Oh yes, there he is!”

Bobby was indeed coming towards them. Alex tried not to cringe at the sight of him. Bald with a beard was really not a good look for him. She hoped he wouldn’t get a sunburn on his head. 

Alex adjusted her glasses, and then reached to take the woman’s hand. “I’m Mandy,” she said, “And it really is a pleasure to meet you.”


	5. Exhaustion

Alex ushered the last simpering guest from the house. She then stalked back into the kitchen irritably. 

“Ugh,” she said. “I never want to deal with that many fake smiles and people making annoying small talk ever again. And these are driving me crazy.” She pulled her glasses off. 

“What if someone is looking in the window, Mandy?” Bobby asked. 

“A peeping tom, that’s just one more thing I really don’t want to deal with,” Alex said irritably, but she put the glasses back on. She and Bobby had agreed to use their undercover names in order to get used to them, and not say their real names by accident. 

“By the way Patrick, you look like a tomato.”

Bobby had indeed gotten a sunburn on his newly shaved head. It probably didn’t help that it was so much warmer in California than it was in New York. 

Alex went to the front window to make sure there really wasn’t someone looking in. She smiled and waved to a neighbor across the street then shut the curtains.

“Okay, let’s get started,” Alex said. 

She took off her glasses and set them on the table, then whipped out her laptop. Bobby pulled out a notebook in order to begin making notes on their neighbors. 

“What are you doing?” Bobby asked Alex a few minutes later. 

“Hacking,” Alex replied. Her years in computer crimes had not gone to waste.

“Hacking what?” Bobby asked.

“I’m making sure that if someone here runs our prints; they don’t kick back as law enforcement.” 

“Good idea,” Bobby said. “Is that difficult?”

“Piece of cake,” Alex muttered while her fingers flew over the keys. “The hard part is making sure that I don’t alert NYPD or the FBI by doing it.”

“Oh,” Bobby replied. They worked in silence for a few minutes. 

“Mandy?”

“What?” 

“What was that red haired girl’s name again?”

“Susan.”

“Right.”

More silence. It almost felt like when they had been partners in Major Case, Bobby reflected. Except that there was never the small burning panic in the pit of his stomach then; the feeling that something was terribly wrong. Rebecca was missing, and they had to find her. 

Bobby shoved the notebook aside and went over to the window. He pulled the curtains open. 

“Patrick!” Alex snapped. “What are you doing?”

“Looking outside,” Bobby replied. 

“Do you want people to find out what we’re doing?”

“It’s dark out, and no one’s around.” 

“What if someone is and they see all this?” Alex asked, gesturing at the table. 

“This isn’t good enough!” Bobby snapped, also gesturing at the table. “We’re never going to find her this way!”

“It has to be good enough!” Alex insisted. “It’s all that we can do!”

“She could be in one of these houses right now,” Bobby said, looking out the window again. Alex walked up next to him. It was a regular sub-division, and though Alex knew that everyone said it, she thought that this didn’t seem like a place where terrible things could be happening. It looked like a normal neighborhood.

“We’ve got to look for her,” Bobby said. 

“We are,” Alex replied. 

“Not like this, it’s not going to work, it’ll take forever, we need to look for her!” His eyes were widened and he looked almost insane as he headed for the door. 

“Not again!” Alex snapped. She walked back over to the table. “I told you that isn’t going to work! Just get over here and do something that actually might be useful.” 

“You think I’m not trying!” Bobby roared. 

“Shut up!” Alex hissed. “You’re worried about me wearing my glasses – you’re going to wake the whole neighborhood shouting like that!”

“You think you’re so ready with all that you’re doing – we’re not any closer than we were when we got here!”

“We’re not going to get any closer if we don’t try! Just don’t go out there and start breaking down doors; that would jeopardize everything!”

“I’m not stupid you know, and stop telling me what to do.”

“Don’t act like a petulant child!” Alex snapped. 

“Stop treating me like I don’t care!”

“Would you please shut up, the neighbors-”

“I will not shut up,” Bobby replied angrily, but before he could say more - 

“Jesus Bobby!” Alex yelled, slamming her hand down on the table. 

Bobby walked up to her. “Wrong name, _dear_.”

Alex thought, in that moment, that she was going to slap him. She settled for putting as much venom into her next words as possible. “Shut _up_!” she hissed. 

Bobby growled angrily, then turned away from her. “I’m going for a walk; I need to clear my head.” 

“Just don’t go messing with the neighbors!” Alex shouted at his retreating back. He slammed the door as he left. 

“Damn it!” Alex moaned. She walked back into the kitchen with shaky legs, but when she sat down at her computer, she couldn’t see because the screen was blurry. She wriggled the mouse furiously but nothing happened. It wasn’t until a tear slid down her cheek and landed in her lap that she realized she was crying. 

“What have we gotten ourselves into,” she muttered. She folded her arms and rested her head on them, her shoulders shaking. 

Maybe Peters was right, she thought. Maybe they shouldn’t do this at all. But then she thought about Rebecca. 

“Where are you?” Alex asked out loud. She dissolved into fresh tears, and remained with her head on her arms. 

 

The walk had indeed helped Bobby to calm down. He had walked through a large chunk of the neighborhood, and now that he had calmed down enough, he was making mental notes of the houses on the walk back. 

He was also now feeling very guilty about the last fight with Alex. He knew she was right, that they couldn’t very well search every house in the subdivision, and it was unlikely Rebecca was there anyway. He wouldn’t have gotten so angry with her under normal circumstances – they had gotten into furious discussions before when they disagreed, but they had never fought the way they had now. 

He knew that they were under a large amount of stress, and they were also trying to work without any sleep. They hadn’t slept since Rebecca was kidnapped – five days ago now. Their neighbors had annoyed them with questions about it all day: “Was it a long flight?” and “Oh you two look exhausted; at least you won’t have to cook tonight since we brought you some homemade pasta!” 

They hadn’t touched the food that was brought either, eating hadn’t been at the top of their priority list. They couldn’t carry on like this, Bobby knew.

Bobby had finally arrived back at their house. He still wasn’t sure what he was going to say to Alex, and he hoped she wasn’t too angry with him still. 

He pushed open the door and walked in. He didn’t see her, and she hadn’t approached when he’d opened the door. He walked back into the kitchen. 

When he first saw her, he feared for a moment that she was dead. “Alex,” he gasped. He rushed over to her side and saw that she was breathing. Her arms were folded over her laptop and she was face down on top of them. She was asleep. 

Bobby breathed a sigh of relief. He went over to her and gently touched her cropped hair. “Alex,” he whispered. 

She lifted her head off of her arms. “Bobby?” she asked thickly. Her makeup was smeared down her face and her eyes were bloodshot. It was like a curtain being drawn over her as Bobby watched her remember. Her entire body language changed as she remembered the nightmare her life was now – Rebecca was missing. 

Alex dropped her head, staring silently into her lap. When Bobby lifted her chin with his hand, it looked as though a light had gone out from her eyes. 

“I’m sorry,” Alex whispered. 

Bobby didn’t reply, he simply pulled her into his arms. 

“Alex,” he whispered.

“Mandy,” she corrected softly. 

“Alex,” he stated, slightly louder, but not so that anyone outside could hear him. 

She pulled back to look at him. “Alexandra Eames,” he whispered softly to her, “My wife, and mother of my child. I love you. Nothing could ever change that – not this fight, not any disagreement, not any circumstance. I hope you know that.”

“I know,” she replied.

“And don’t ever forget it.”

“I won’t.” Silence. Then, “And Bobby? Don’t you ever forget it either.”

He smiled at her. Not a true smile, but she appreciated it all the same. 

“Now we have to get some sleep,” Bobby said. Alex was so exhausted that she didn’t even try to argue. Bobby looked dead on his feet, and she knew that he must have already come to the conclusion that there was no good in continuing their search in this state. 

Just let me take these out,” Bobby said, heading for the bathroom. “How do I do this without poking myself in the eye?”

He had been wearing coloured contacts. They weren’t willing to take the chance that someone from New York was looking for them, so they had changed their appearance as much as possible. It had disconcerted Alex all day to be looking into blue eyes instead of the deep brown she was used to. 

“Bobby?” Alex asked when they were lying in bed waiting to fall asleep. 

He rolled over to face her. 

“What if we don’t ever find her?”

“We will,” Bobby replied. “We have to.”

“I don’t want to wake up, knowing she won’t be here in the morning.”

“I know,” Bobby whispered, pulling her close to him. “I know.”

 

“You really shouldn’t be doing that,” Bole told Thompson. 

“Look, I know what Peters said, but I’m sure they must have had some idea of where to go,” Thompson replied. 

Bole heaved a sigh and pulled himself over to look at his partner’s computer screen. 

“What are you looking for?”

“Any couples in the right age range that have recently moved, or are travelling,” Thompson replied. 

“There must be hundreds, maybe thousands!” Bole exclaimed. “Listen, why don’t we just do what Peters said and focus on the websites.”

“You’re right,” Thompson mused. 

Bole sighed with relief and slid his chair back over to his own computer. 

“There are too many to search this way. We need to narrow this down.”

Bole cringed slightly. He was relatively new to the FBI and didn’t like going against the wishes of a superior. 

Thompson opened a rolodex from the Goren house, and started running names through the FBI database.

“What are you hoping to find?” Bole asked. 

Thompson didn’t answer. Bole shrugged and went back to what he was doing.

“Got you,” Thompson muttered a few minutes later. 

“What?” Bole asked. 

“Goren has a friend who’s been brought up on forgery charges.”

“So?” Bole asked. 

“So he’d be able to get them a new identity.” Thompson got up. “Are you coming?” he asked his partner. 

Bole paused for a moment. “Alright, let’s go,” he said reluctantly.


	6. Tracking Them Down

“Hey Jones, I got here as soon as I could,” Mike said. 

Terrance Jones opened the door to let Mike in. 

“They released you?” Mike asked. 

“I’ve been fined for making the passports, but my lawyer convinced the cops that I had no idea what they were up to,” Jones replied. “I’m also on probation, but Logan, that’s not what I’m worried about.”

“What is it?” Mike asked.

“I didn’t tell them anything, I swear I didn’t, but they must have found something in order to charge me. If they found out the identities that I gave Goren and Eames…”

Mike cursed. “I don’t understand why they’re going after Bobby and Alex anyway,” Mike muttered. “It’s not like they’re breaking the law!”

“No, but those agents think that they might, and they wouldn’t want to be held responsible for that,” Jones replied bitterly. 

“Bobby and Alex are smart, I’m sure they’ll have covered their tracks,” Mike said. “Still, I want to make sure Bole and Thompson aren’t able to track them easily. I’ll check the system to see if they left a paper trail. What names did you give them?”

“Allan and Marjorie Timmins,” Jones replied. 

“Thanks,” Mike said. He left, going back to his own place to run the names through the system. 

He discovered that Allan and Marjorie Timmins had stopped at a gas station in southern New York. In fact, that place was near where Mike had once worked briefly, after leaving Major Case and before returning to Manhattan to work homicide. 

A broad grin spread across Mike’s face as he guessed what they were doing there. Mike had once arrested a man there for making passports under fake names. It was one of his first cases that he worked there, and he had told Bobby and Alex about it. 

The man had been released of course, and as far as Mike knew, he was still there. Using the names Allan and Marjorie Timmins, Bobby and Alex had gotten another fake identity. Since this forger didn’t even know who they really were, it made them even more difficult to trace. 

This was exactly what Bobby and Alex had done. They then asked this man if he knew anyone else who made false documents, in case they needed more where they were headed. The man said he had a cousin who made them. 

They switched identities multiple times on their way to California. It had taken a couple of days, but they were fairly certain that they wouldn’t be traced now. Mike, back home in New York, also agreed that they had covered their tracks well.

 

The doorbell rang early the next morning. Bobby was in their bedroom getting ready for work (he was working as an accountant; he had experience from a case he had worked with the FBI). Alex went over to open the door.

“Susan, what a lovely surprise,” she said, forcing another smile onto her face. 

“Mandy, dear, how are you,” Susan gushed. 

“I’m fine, thank you. Come in,” Alex said, stepping back. 

Susan walked into the house and immediately began inspecting it, judging how clean or organized it was, Alex supposed. 

“Come into the living room and have a seat,” Alex said.

“Why thank you,” Susan answered, in a falsely gracious tone. 

They made small talk for a short while before Susan leaned forward, and it was clear to Alex that she was about to reveal why it was that she had come over. 

“Are you really sure you’re alright, Mandy?” she asked innocently. 

“Of course,” Alex replied, “why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well,” Susan said, lowering her voice to a low whisper, “Ted and I were up last night, and well…” she trailed off dramatically. “We just couldn’t help but overhear raised voices,” she whispered in a tone that made Alex think that she certainly could have helped overhearing. 

Alex raised her eyebrows. “Oh… um, about that…”

“Is there a problem between you and Patrick, Mandy?” Susan asked, placing her hand on Alex’s arm in a way that was meant to be comforting but wasn’t. 

“Oh, no, it was just a long flight, and we were a bit short with each other,” Alex told Susan. “That’s all; nothing to worry about.”

“Are you sure, dear?” Susan asked. 

“It’s really nothing Susan,” Alex replied “Thank you for your concern.”

Susan nodded, looking slightly disappointed that there was no better gossip to gain from her trip. However, she did stay over to talk to Alex for a long time after Bobby left. It was only when Susan needed to leave to for a dinner date with a friend (Alex politely declined the offer to go with) that Susan finally left. 

 

“We’ve narrowed it down to these three cities,” Thompson said. “Now we just have to run the names.”

The search came up empty. 

“That can’t be right,” Thompson muttered. 

“Maybe they got other identities after that,” Bole suggested. “Could you drop it now?”

“Just let me try one last thing,” Thompson replied. He searched the city for new couples moved into the three cities they had narrowed it down to, then started checking driver’s license photographs.

The first city only had ten new couples in the right age range, and Thompson ruled them out. The second took longer, thirty that matched the parameters. 

“Hey Bole,” Thompson asked. 

“What?”

“Look at this guy’s sunburn!”

“Poor Patrick O’Donnell,” Bole commented. “That looks painful. And Thompson, it says this guy has blue eyes on his license, you might want to narrow your search.”

Luckily Bole hadn’t been looking at pictures of Bobby and Alex to compare to the images on the screen. Their licenses were both pulled up. Thompson, distracted by the sunburn and tired of looking through all of the photographs, was fooled by their drastic changes in appearance. He moved on to the next couple. 

“They’re not here,” Thompson said finally. 

“Can you just drop it now?” Bole asked. 

“Fine,” Thompson replied, “But they had better not be breaking the law.”

 

Alex was putting on makeup in the mirror, Bobby was straightening the sleeve of his button-down shirt. They were going to a community barbeque, which would be a perfect way to meet more of their neighbors, and get a read on them.

They had been in the neighborhood for two weeks already, but they hadn’t had the opportunity to really feel out the community. They were hoping to get a better idea of who they should narrow their focus on. 

“Ready?” Bobby asked. 

“Ready,” Alex replied. They walked out the front door holding hands. 

“Patrick O’Donnell?” a man asked shortly after they left their house. Bobby turned towards him. “Frank Hawthorne,” the man said, extending his hand towards Bobby. Bobby took it. 

“My wife, Mandy,” Bobby said, indicating Alex. 

“Pleasure,” Frank said, grasping Alex’s hand too. “This is my wife, Gina.”

Gina stepped forward and also exchanged pleasantries and handshakes. The two couples discussed Bobby and Alex’s move from Pennsylvania, and had moved on to the weather when another couple approached them. 

“Frank!” the man boomed. “How’s it going? And how are you Gina?”

He walked forward to pump Frank’s hand enthusiastically, and complemented Gina’s dress. Then he turned towards Bobby and Alex. “New neighbors!” he said loudly, as though he had just noticed them. 

“I’m Craig, and this is my wife Aubrey.” Aubrey smiled, but didn’t say anything. Perhaps she was used to not speaking, since Craig always seemed to speak loudly and often. 

“Patrick O’Donnell,” Bobby said, stepping forward to shake Craig’s hand. “This is my wife Mandy.”

Alex also stepped forward and smiled. Craig smiled back, and eyed her in a way that made Bobby wrap his arm around her waist possessively. No one else seemed to notice. 

“We were just discussing the difference in the weather between here and Pennsylvania,” Frank said. 

“Really?” Craig asked. “That sounds like an interesting topic.” His eyes had returned to Alex. Bobby tightened his grip around her waist and shifted forward slightly. It was a wonder that the rest of the group didn’t notice the exchange between them, but they were all focused on Gina, who had begun describing what the weather was supposed to be like for the next few days. 

After a short while Ted and Susan came over to join the group. 

“Mandy, Patrick, so good to see you,” Susan trilled. She was of the opinion that her initial meeting with Alex had gone well, and had returned almost every day. She seemed to be under the impression that they were friends. 

“Hello everyone,” Ted greeted them. The group offered a greeting in return. “I’m going to need some help with the barbeques soon men,” he said. 

“Well, let’s go then,” Craig boomed. “Let’s leave the ladies to chat.”

Frank, Craig, Ted, and Bobby left to start barbecuing. 

“I see you’ve met my good friend Mandy,” Susan said to Gina and Aubrey. Alex gritted her teeth together to keep from saying something she shouldn’t. 

 

“Hey need some help?” a man asked, walking towards the barbeque Bobby was at. 

“Sure, thanks,” Bobby replied. He held out his hand. “I’m Patrick O’Donnell, moved in two weeks ago. My wife Mandy is over there.” He nodded in Alex’s direction. 

The man took his hand. “Blake Green,” he returned. “That’s my wife Jen over there, the blonde,” he said, indicating a group of women standing nearby. “And that’s our daughter, Hailey.” He pointed at a blonde girl of about seven years who was playing ball with a group of children. 

“Do you have kids?” Blake asked. 

“No, we don’t,” Bobby replied. He hoped his face hadn’t reflected the pang he felt when he answered. 

“That’s too bad, I’m sure Hailey would have been delighted to have a new friend.”

Bobby nodded, not sure of what to say. 

Hailey had left the ball game and was talking to her mother. “Go ask your father that,” Jen told Hailey. 

Hailey walked over to where Blake and Bobby were talking. “Daddy, can Krista come over tomorrow after school?” Hailey asked. 

“Of course she can,” Blake replied. Hailey turned to leave, but Blake called her back. “Hailey!” he exclaimed. “Where are your manners? Come and say hello to one of our new neighbors.”

Hailey walked back over. “Hello,” she said. 

“Hi Hailey,” Bobby replied, crouching down to her level. “It’s very nice to meet you.” He offered her his hand. She placed hers in his and allowed him to shake it. 

“Okay, come and give Daddy a kiss before you back to play with the other kids,” Blake said. Hailey obligingly walked over and kissed his cheek. “Okay, go play munchkin!”

Hailey offered Bobby and her father a small smile, then went back to rejoin the other kids. 

“She’s a little shy,” Blake said. “Are you sure you don’t have kids? You were good with her.”

“No, no kids,” Bobby repeated. 

“Well, you should consider it. Family is the joy of life,” Blake said, smiling. 

Bobby wasn’t sure what it was that tipped him off. Perhaps it was the way Hailey had been reluctant to approach her father, or the fact that Bobby was observing his behavior so carefully. He thought of what Peters had told him; that pedophiles had a way of looking at children that other pedophiles and law enforcement who were experienced with cases like this could identify. Blake was watching Hailey in a slightly modified and more discrete way, but he was looking at her like Craig had been looking at Alex. 

Willing himself not to blow it, and swallowing his distaste, Bobby commented, “You’re daughter is very pretty.” He turned back to the burgers he was grilling. 

“You think so?” Blake asked casually. 

“Oh yes,” Bobby replied, looking up at Blake. “She’s perfect.”

It was just a subtle flicker, but Bobby saw that he had caught Blake’s interest. 

“You ever want kids?” Blake asked. 

“Definitely,” Bobby said firmly. He looked Blake in the eye, and forced his face into what he hoped was a passable expression. “But for now, I just enjoy spending time with other people’s children.”

Blake held Bobby’s gaze for a long moment before he looked away. “Well, Patrick,” he said lightly. “I’m sure Jen would agree that you should come over for dinner anytime. And bring Mandy, of course.”

“Thank you, I think I’ll take you up on that offer.”

“I’m sure we’ll have plenty of things to discuss.”

“I’m sure we will.”


	7. One of Them

“Blake Green,” Bobby told Alex. 

“What tipped you off?” Alex asked, her fingers flying over the keys of her laptop. 

“He didn’t say anything explicit of course, but I just got the feeling that he was one of them.”

Alex nodded. “Well, he doesn’t have a criminal record. Never gotten a speeding ticket, never had his car towed, lived in this area most of his life… he’s got a squeaky clean history.”

“I’m not surprised,” Bobby said. “I don’t know that this group would allow members with criminal record, they’re too well organized.”

Alex sighed, and closed her laptop. “We’ve got nothing but your hunch.”

“Don’t you believe me?” Bobby asked. 

“Of course I do,” Alex said briskly. “I’m just saying that the only way we’re going to get him is if you get close to him; get him to introduce you to the group. And that means you’ll have to pretend that you’re one of them.” Alex looked up at him, careful to keep her expression neutral. “I understand if you can’t do it.”

“If I don’t, we won’t ever find Rebecca.”

“Bobby,” Alex said carefully, “I trust you. But what you’re going to have to say and how you’ll have to act – it’s going to be so difficult. It’s easier for me; I just have to pretend to be a clueless housewife. But you, you have to act like a monster. I won’t blame you if you can’t.”

“Alex I can’t not do this. If there’s something I can do to find her, I’ll do it.”

“You’ll have to listen to them describe the crimes they’ve committed, and do nothing,” Alex said. “Are you sure you can do that?”

“I have to.”

“I would never want to pressure you into doing this,” Alex insisted. 

“You’re not,” Bobby replied. “You keep me sane, throughout all of this.”

Alex walked over and wrapped her arms around him. “I love you,” she whispered. 

“I love you too.”

 

Detective Kevin Kirk was staring down at the photograph of Rebecca Goren in her file. 

“Kirk,” Mendel said, seeing him sitting in silence staring into a file, “you need to let go of that case.”

“I can’t,” Kirk replied. 

“Listen,” Mendel said. “We’ve got other open cases to work, and there’s no lead on that one.”

“So we’re just supposed to give up?”

“The FBI has taken over, we don’t think she’s even in New York anymore,” Mendel answered. “It’s out of our jurisdiction anyway. We can’t solve every case. Take my advice, man, and just let this one go.”

“What if she was your daughter?” Kirk asked. “Or your niece, or a friend’s child. Would you want the detectives on the case to just give up?”

“But she’s not my daughter,” Mendel replied. “And she’s not yours either.”

Kirk looked up sharply to meet Mendel’s gaze. He sighed heavily and closed the file. He wouldn’t forget this case, but maybe it was time to put more focus on the newer cases – the ones that he might be able to solve.

 

It had been two months since the barbeque. Bobby and Alex had gone over to neighbor’s houses for dinner multiple times, and had guests of their own as well. The couples they had been seeing the most of were Ted and Susan, and Blake and Jen. 

Bobby was certain that Blake was one of the members of the group they were looking for. He still hadn’t let anything explicit slip, but he and Bobby had exchanged thinly veiled references similar to the first time they met. Bobby hoped he was starting to gain the other man’s trust. 

At the moment, Bobby and Blake were discussing the cabinet that Blake had built, while Alex and Jen were discussing a sale at a nearby mall. Hailey was upstairs in her bedroom. 

“You know Patrick, I’ve been describing it, but it’s right upstairs, so you can see for yourself,” Blake said. “Come on up and I’ll show you.”

“Sure, that’d be great,” Bobby replied. 

Alex glanced over at him, but turned quickly back to talking with Jen. Bobby followed Patrick upstairs. “It’s in my office,” Blake said. They entered the first door up the stairs. 

Blake opened the door for Bobby. He saw that the room was filled with photographs, mostly of Hailey. Bobby walked over to look at one of Hailey in a bathing suit. 

“You like that picture?” Blake asked.

“It’s nice,” Bobby answered. 

“I’ve got more, if you’re interested.”

“I see that,” Bobby replied, glancing around the room. 

“Not those,” Blake said. 

Bobby followed him over to the desk, his heart racing. Blake pulled out more photographs of Hailey at the beach, Hailey in the bathtub, Hailey in the backyard in her underwear. 

None of the photographs showed anything that would get Blake arrested. None of them were proof of what Bobby suspected Blake was. But they were enough to convince Bobby. He swallowed the bile in his throat and forced himself to look over each photograph slowly, moving his eyes up and down over them multiple times. 

“Hailey is a very pretty little girl,” Bobby said, handing them back. 

Blake smiled. “You know, I don’t think you’ve spoken to her since the first day we’ve met. Why don’t you come and say hello?”

“Oh no, that’s not necessary,” Bobby replied. “I wouldn’t want to, um, interfere with your relationship.”

“An honorable man!” Blake said heartily. 

Bobby wondered in what world anything he had said so far would be considered honorable, but he forced himself to smile. He seemed to have passed some sort of test, because Blake was looking rather pleased. 

“You know, I think you would be interested in coming with me to a group meeting,” Blake said softly. 

“Group meeting?” Bobby asked in a puzzled voice. 

“It’s group a few guys who share… common interests.”

“Really?” Bobby asked, hoping he didn’t sound stupid. Blake was still smiling, so he must have been convincing. 

“There are some rules though,” Blake said. 

“What rules?” Bobby asked. 

“Well… here let me give you an example,” Blake replied. “Hailey is my little angel. I love her, and I would never hurt her.” 

Bobby nodded. “Of course not,” he said. 

“I like to… admire her …” Bobby was hoping he didn’t look like he was going to vomit, because he certainly felt like he was going to. “But she’s too small to take our relationship further, you understand what I mean?” Bobby nodded. “Like I said, I would never hurt her.”

“Blake,” Bobby replied, also quietly, “I want you to know that I have never forced a girl to be in a relationship with me. I would never force her to do anything she didn’t want to do. And I would certainly never want to hurt a little angel; I have self-control you know.”

Blake smiled even wider. “I thought you might say that,” he replied. “Patrick, I’m sure you’ll get along with the rest of the group perfectly.” They shook hands, and went back downstairs to their wives.

 

“Did something happen at the Green’s tonight?” Alex asked Bobby as soon as they shut the door to their house. 

“Was I making it that obvious?” Bobby asked nervously. 

“No, it’s just because I know you,” Alex replied. “And I also saw that Blake was looking rather pleased through the entire dinner.”

Bobby took a deep breath, steadying himself. “He invited me to a group meeting.”

“You managed to convince him then?” Alex asked. 

“Yes… he, um, he showed me some photos… of Hailey.”

Alex’s face contorted into fury and disgust. “So he is raping his daughter,” she spat. 

“No,” Bobby replied. “No he… he takes pictures, but…” Alex bit her lip, looking like she might throw up, which was exactly how Bobby felt. “But he said he wouldn’t hurt her.” 

“They all say that,” Alex replied venomously.

“No, he… I don’t really want to repeat it, but he isn’t molesting her. In fact, he said it was a group rule.” 

“Then there’s a chance that they’re not hurting Rebecca,” Alex whispered. 

“There’s a chance.”

They held each other’s gaze. What had it come to that they were relieved their daughter was kidnapped by this particular group, since her fate could have easily been worse?

 

“Jackie, no sweetie, dirt from the floor doesn’t go in your mouth!” 

Alex swept the dirt away from the one-year-old on the floor while his mother, Tammy, picked him up. 

Bobby and Tammy’s husband Richard were sitting at the kitchen table discussing basketball. Alex and Tammy had been standing in the kitchen chatting when Tammy saw Jack try to put the dirt in his mouth.

“Honestly, I have to keep my eye on him every second!” Tammy exclaimed.

“It must be difficult,” Alex said. 

“It can be sometimes,” Tammy replied. “You have no idea!”

Alex dropped her gaze to the floor. She had a very good idea, but she couldn’t tell Tammy that. 

Realizing she had said something wrong, Tammy paled. “Oh Mandy, I’m sorry,” she said. 

“No, don’t worry about it,” Alex said hastily. “Really, Tammy, it’s alright.”

Richard and Bobby had stopped talking and were looking at the two women, Tammy’s obvious distress having captured their attention. 

“How long have you been trying?” Tammy asked gently. Alex looked up and caught Bobby’s eye, so that they could silently communicate with their gaze. 

“Over two years now,” Bobby replied, getting up to wrap a comforting arm around Alex, who nodded. 

“I am so sorry, that was such an insensitive comment,” Tammy apologized. 

“It’s alright Tammy, you didn’t know,” Alex replied. 

There was a short uncomfortable pause. 

“I could give you the number of our fertility specialist,” Tammy offered. “He helped us to get pregnant with Jack.”

“He has an excellent reputation,” Richard agreed. Tammy pulled out her purse to grab a pen and paper. She scribbled a number down on it. 

“Thank you for the offer,” Bobby said. “We’ll consider it. But I don’t know that he’ll have any more luck than the last doctor. I’m not sure we can stand another disappointment.”

Richard and Tammy exchanged uncomfortable glances. “You know, there’s also adoption as an option,” Tammy said. “There’s a private adoption agency around here somewhere, that’s where Sean and Alice adopted their little girl from.”

Bobby and Alex exchanged glances. “Do you know who owns this place?” Bobby asked. 

“I don’t really know much about it, to be honest,” Tammy replied. “I can give you Sean and Alice’s number though, I’m sure they can tell you whatever you want to know.” Tammy pulled out another piece of paper to write the phone number down on. 

Later that night, after Richard and Tammy had left, Bobby and Alex were talking. 

“I’m so sorry,” Alex said. “I shouldn’t have reacted like that to what Tammy said. It was stupid, I could have blown it.”

“It’s okay,” Bobby replied. “I don’t blame you. And besides, we got some useful information out of it.”

“The adoption agency, you mean?”

“Yes,” Bobby replied. “I know Sean; Blake introduced us a while back. Blake had also said that we should consider adoption if we weren’t going to have our own kids.”

“Do you really think that they would be giving kids away?” Alex asked. 

“I don’t believe that it’s a real agency, I think they would only give kids to group members. The group members share photographs of their kids with the rest of the group, so whoever it is that’s stealing children for the website would still benefit even if he didn’t have the children himself anymore.”

“There’s no clue yet as to who has the children in the photographs yet?” Alex asked. 

“No,” Bobby replied, “but I think that this adoption agency would be a good place to start. We should call Sean and Alice tomorrow.”

 

“It’s Carol,” Kirk said, glancing down at his phone. 

“You’d better answer it,” Mendel replied without looking up. 

“Listen, Carol, I know that I haven’t been around much lately-” Kirk started to say when he answered. 

“Kevin you need to come home!”

“What’s wrong?” Kirk asked, concerned at his wife’s tone of voice. 

“They’ve taken her,” Carol sobbed. “Someone’s taken our baby!”


	8. Searching for the Girls

“This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening,” Kirk repeated to himself over and over. Everything from this case had matched the Goren case. His daughter had been kidnapped from the front yard while Carol was gardening – taken in front of her mother, just like Rebecca Goren. She had been taken by three suspects in an unmarked van, just like Rebecca. 

Kirk had been imagining that it was his little girl throughout the entire Goren case, and now it really was his daughter. 

Everyone who was involved in the first case was at Kirk’s house now. Mendel was there, Thompson and Bole, Kirk and Mendel’s captain… It was all horribly familiar, and yet it wasn’t. Thompson and Bole were there, but they hadn’t been right away in Rebecca’s case. They had come in when they found the photograph. Kirk buried his face in his hands. 

“We’ll find her Kevin,” Mendel said. They were empty words, Kirk knew. They hadn’t found Rebecca; they weren’t going to find his daughter either. They were waiting for a ransom call now, Kirk knew. 

Two other detectives walked into the Kirk residence. “We’re so sorry Kevin, and Carol,” the first said. They nodded in acknowledgement. 

“I’m sorry to have to do this, but we need to ask you some questions Carol,” the other said. 

Kirk looked up sharply. “No,” he said. “No way, you can’t be serious.” He turned to face his captain. 

“Langley and Fisher have taken over the investigation,” his captain said.

“No, this is our case, you can’t do this!” Kirk exclaimed. “I know this case; you can’t just give it to someone else!”

“Kirk, you’re personally involved, you know I can’t let you investigate this case any longer,” the captain said gently. 

“Captain,” Mendel said, “there’s no reason that I can’t still stay on, and help out.”

“No Mendel, you’re Kirk’s partner,” the captain said. “I can’t leave you on this case either.”

Kirk now understood Goren and Eames’s suffering even more now. He just wanted his daughter back.

 

Bobby and Alex had an appointment with the adoption agency that day. Bobby had proved his loyalty to the group by committing a crime (money laundering, since he was supposed to be an accountant). The other thing that he was supposed to do was share photographs with the group, which he continued to claim he couldn’t do because he didn’t have his own daughter, and he didn’t have access to someone else’s.

“Mr. and Mrs. O’Donnell, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” the man said. “I’m Grant Waverly, and I’ll be handling your case.” He extended his hand to shake both Bobby and Alex’s hands. 

“You’ve received glowing recommendations from two of our previous clients, so I’m sure we’ll have no problem with finding you a child,” Waverly said. He smiled to reveal all his perfectly white, straight teeth. 

He went on to ask them normal questions about themselves, to determine whether or not they’d be fit parents. “We’ll need to do a home inspection too,” Waverly informed them. 

They finished the meeting, and Waverly ushered them out. They were almost at the elevator to exit the building when Waverly exclaimed, “Oh, I’d almost forgotten about the pamphlets! You really should take them, they describe the whole process!”

“You go ahead to the car dear,” Bobby said. “I’ll go back for the pamphlets.” Alex nodded and went down alone. Grant Waverly had warned Bobby that they would use that ruse to get him alone, and Bobby had warned Alex so she would cooperate with it.

“So,” Waverly asked, “what exactly are you looking for?”

“A girl, for sure,” Bobby replied. 

Waverly nodded. “I heard you’ve taken a liking to Blake’s little girl. We could find you a girl who looks like Hailey, if you’re interested.”

“Can I choose what she looks like?” Bobby asked. He hadn’t counted on that. Waverly smiled and nodded. “Well, in that case, I think I’d prefer a girl a little younger than Hailey, pre-school aged perhaps.”

“Any specific type?” Waverly asked. It was disgusting to Bobby; they sounded like they were discussing animals, or property.

“I’d prefer a brunette, if possible,” Bobby replied. “Brown eyes, like my wife.”

“You really care for your wife, don’t you?” Waverly asked. “I think that’s admirable.”

“I love her,” Bobby said simply. 

“Loyalty is something we value, Patrick. But it seems to me that you have a true passion for Mandy.”

“I would die for her,” Bobby replied truthfully. 

“Well, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Waverly joked. He and Bobby had reached the elevator again. 

“You know, there are some men like us who think that it’s not possible to have a true loving relationship with their wives,” Waverly commented. “But that’s not the case; you and I are proof of that!”

“Oh, are you married?” Bobby asked. 

“Happily married,” Waverly replied. “I love my wife very much, and our daughters too, of course.” Waverly laughed. 

Bobby forced himself to smile.

“I’m sure you and Mandy will make great parents.”

“Thank you.”

Bobby wasn’t sure which was worse, the men who attacked random little girls and knew what they were doing was wrong, or men like Waverly who truly believed that there was nothing wrong with the way they thought about their daughters. 

 

The phone rang. Kirk leapt for it, snatching it up quickly. “Hello?” he demanded. 

“Put the phone on speaker, I want your wife to hear this too,” the voice on the other end of the line instructed. Kirk did as he was told. He also noted that the person didn’t say his wife’s name, whether or not that was because he didn’t know it Kirk didn’t know for sure. 

“Okay, the phone’s on speaker.” 

“Listen closely,” the voice said. “You are going to suffer, as you have made others suffer.” Kirk felt his stomach clench at the familiar words. 

“No, you listen to me!” Kirk insisted. “Whoever hired you is going to come and shoot you, and take my daughter. Do you understand me? Your life is in danger here!” 

“If this is some trick to get me to return your daughter, it’s not going to work.”

“It’s not a trick, this guy already shot the last person he hired, please just listen – you need to get out of there. Take my daughter with you if you must, we’ll pay whatever you want. Just get out of there!”

There was silence on the other end of the line. “Did you hear me?” Kirk demanded. 

“He heard you,” a different voice replied. “But then he had the misfortune of being strangled before he could answer. Nice try, Detective Kirk.”

“No!” Kirk shouted, but the line had gone dead. 

 

_A Few Months Later_

In the months since his own daughter had gone missing, Kirk had done nothing but work these cases, and there was still no leads. There was also no way to predict the kidnappings, although all police officers in the state of New York were keeping a close eye on their daughters.

There had been four more kidnappings after Kirk’s daughter: Emma Johansen, Taylor Franklin, Giselle Vanderburgh, and Laura Rendell. All of them were between three and six years old. All of them had either one or both parents who were in law enforcement. All of them were kidnapped in plain view of at least one of their parents. 

The kidnapper had apparently liked the challenge of going after these particular girls. All police officers and government agents were terrified that their daughter was going to be targeted next. Kirk kept thinking that surely someone would catch the kidnapper; he must have made a mistake somewhere! But the kidnapper had started travelling after he kidnapped Kirk’s daughter, the other four had been spread out all over the state. 

This person had gotten away with six kidnappings. It infuriated Kirk that he hadn’t been able to find them. He had neglected everything else in his life to focus completely on these cases. Carol had left; she was staying with her sister on Staten Island. He didn’t know if she was going to come back. 

There had to be a connection, Kirk kept thinking. Goren worked for the FBI, Eames for a computer crimes unit in Manhattan. Kirk himself had worked the Goren case, so there was that connection. Carol wasn’t connected to law enforcement other than being married to him. 

Emma Johansen’s father was a traffic cop three districts over, her mother worked as a 911 operator, but neither of them had a connection to the Goren’s or the Kirk’s. Taylor Franklin’s parents were both detectives, her mother worked robbery, her father worked homicide, but neither of them had a connection with any of the others. Giselle Vanderburgh’s father was in the FBI, her mother was dead. Laura Rendell’s parents were divorced; her father was a sheriff in a small town on the outskirts of New York and her mother had married a member of the DEA. 

Despite all of the similarities, Kirk couldn’t find any connection between the families other than the fact that he had worked Rebecca Goren’s case. Maybe the perp had wised up, and had chosen new targets at random. Or maybe he was travelling, and these girls were chosen out of convenience. 

He repeated what the cases had in common. All of them around the same age, all of them with parents in law enforcement, all of them kidnapped with a family member nearby…

Kirk began frantically searching through the cases. All of them being kidnapped with a family member nearby, and in broad daylight – that made it personal. The kidnapper wanted the parents to see their daughters getting taken away, wanted them to hear their children screaming for help. He and Mendel had determined that the girl was the true target when Rebecca Goren’s kidnapping was an isolated case, but this string of kidnappings said differently. It told Kirk that at least part of the focus did involve the parents, especially since at least one of the parents all had careers in law enforcement. 

Maybe the kidnapper had a grudge against law enforcement in general, but not to any one particular person. He might blame law enforcement for some sort of tragedy, maybe even the loss of their own child. 

“Or maybe,” Kirk said out loud, “the kidnapper hates all law enforcement, but the most personal-” he pulled Rebecca Goren’s case file to the front, “-was the first.”

 

“Mr. O’Donnell?” 

“Yes?” Bobby asked. 

“It’s Grant Waverly calling. We’ve found a girl for you and your wife to adopt.”

“When can we come and get her?”

“Does tomorrow morning at eight work for you?”

“Yes it does,” Bobby replied quickly. “Thank you Mr. Waverly.”

“It was no trouble Mr. O’Donnell,” Waverly replied. “See you tomorrow.”

“Mandy!” Bobby called, skidding to halt in the living room where Alex and Susan were talking. 

“Yes?” Alex asked. 

“They’ve found us a daughter.”


	9. Daughter

“What if it’s her?” Alex asked on the way to the adoption agency. 

“Then we make a run for it, and leave everything we’ve found with the local police,” Bobby replied. 

“What if it isn’t her?”

“I don’t know.”

Alex drove them the rest of the way in silence. It had been such a long time since Rebecca had been kidnapped. They had no idea what had happened to her. Even if they were about to get her back, how much damage had already been done? 

Both Alex and Bobby continued to wonder what would happen when they finally found their daughter. But in the end, the most important thing was that they found her; they had to find her. 

“I’m supposed to go and get her myself,” Bobby said when they got there. 

Alex opened her mouth to argue, but Bobby interrupted to say, “We really can’t tip them off now.”

Alex bit her lip, then nodded. 

Bobby walked in feeling incredibly nervous. _No matter what happens,_ he told himself firmly, _don’t break cover._

“Mr. O’Donnell!” Waverly exclaimed when he saw him coming. 

“Mr. Waverly,” Bobby greeted him. 

“Well, I would exchange some small talk, but I’m sure you’re eager to meet your new daughter,” Waverly said. Bobby nodded. “She’s waiting in here,” Waverly said, opening the door for Bobby. 

It wasn’t Rebecca. She looked similar enough to pass as Rebecca’s sister, but it wasn’t her. It was stupid to even entertain the idea the he might be getting Rebecca back today, Bobby cursed himself. There must be many girls matching the description he gave. 

“Well?” Waverly asked. Bobby was standing in the doorway, blocking Waverly from entering. 

“She’s perfect,” Bobby replied, forcing himself to convey a grateful smile. 

Waverly smiled in return, and approached the small girl sitting on a chair against the far wall. She hadn’t moved or spoken, she simply regarded them with expressionless eyes, as though she couldn’t even bring herself to be frightened anymore. 

“This is Willow,” Waverly said. “Willow, this is your new Dad.”

Bobby walked forward and crouched in front of her. “Hello Willow,” Bobby whispered. He wanted to tell her she didn’t have to be afraid anymore, but he knew that he couldn’t. 

“Hi,” Willow replied, her voice barely audible. 

“Willow is a little shy, aren’t you honey?” Waverly said. He clapped a hand on her shoulder. Willow cringed as though he had electrocuted her, and Bobby had the mad urge to punch all of Waverly’s perfect teeth out. 

“I’ll just need you and Mandy to sign these papers at some point, you can bring them back to me whenever you’d like,” Waverly said cheerfully, blissfully unaware that he’d nearly been knocked unconscious. 

Bobby accepted the papers. “Come on Willow,” Bobby said gently. “We’re going now.” 

Waverly accompanied Bobby and Willow to the elevator. “Good luck!” He said. “Give Mandy my best!”

“Will do,” Bobby replied. The doors closed, and Bobby looked down at Willow. She was staring blankly at the closed doors. Bobby felt like he should say something to try and comfort her, but he was lost for words. 

Bobby walked out of the building in a daze, Willow following wordlessly behind, not even trying to struggle against the grip he had on her hand.   
Bobby saw Alex in the car; saw her look quickly between him and Willow. She nodded once, almost to herself, her face as expressionless as Willow’s. It was strange for Bobby to think that no one noticed him leaving with an abducted child. Everyone around them was going about their business. He had the insane urge to shout, “Can’t you see that I’m kidnapping this child?” But of course, they didn’t see that. They saw a man walking a little girl towards his car; no one thought twice about it. 

Bobby opened the back door. Willow climbed in without being asked, and put her seatbelt on, still staring straight ahead. Bobby figured she had been told to do what they asked, he had no idea how long she had been with those people. She may have been threatened to keep quiet and do as she was told. 

Alex began to drive back to their house in the suburb automatically. They didn’t speak, although they did both glance into the backseat frequently. 

 

“What are we supposed to do now?” Alex asked. They were back at their house. Willow was in the bedroom they had prepared, Bobby and Alex were in the kitchen. 

“I don’t know,” Bobby said heavily. “Maybe we should just take Willow to the local police, and tell them what happened. They might be able to catch the people we’ve identified.”

“But we haven’t figured out who runs the organization,” Alex said. “We don’t know how big this is. If we do that, the top guy can give the order to move all the girls somewhere else. We’d have to start all over!” 

“But we don’t even know how long Willow has been separated from her parents, if we just keep her…” Bobby trailed off. “Alex, I can’t do that to her.”

“Bobby, I appreciate what you’re saying, and I’m sorry,” Alex said. “I wish we didn’t have to this, I really do. But if we don’t, we’re never going to find Rebecca. We’ve come this far, we can’t turn our backs on her now.”

Bobby regarded her as though he had never truly seen her before. “Alex,” he said slowly, “think of what she’s already been through. Do you really want to keep her from her family even longer? How far are you willing to go?”

Alex lifted her chin defiantly. “I’ll do whatever it takes to find her.”

Bobby just stared at her, unsure of what to say. 

“Listen,” Alex said in a more normal tone, “she’s safe here. We’re not going to hurt her. We can just keep her here until we find Rebecca.”

Bobby still remained unconvinced. But Alex was right; he didn’t know what would happen to the other children if they took Willow to the police. What if the leader ordered them to clean house, and they murdered all the children they had with them? Willow wasn’t in any immediate danger with them, and it was to rescue the other children…

Alex opened her laptop and began working on something. Bobby saw her pull up the photograph of Willow from her file with the agency (false information of course), and a photograph of Bobby, disguised as Patrick. 

“What are you doing?” Bobby asked. 

“Photoshop,” Alex replied. 

“Excuse me?”

“Last week you said you were supposed to take pictures of Willow with you to the next meeting,” Alex said. “Take these with you.” 

On the screen was a photograph that would be worthy of catching Blake Green or Grant Waverly’s attention. Again, nothing explicit, but it showed enough for the group to believe Bobby was one of them. He wasn’t clearly identifiable in the photograph; someone would have to know Bobby (or Patrick) in order to realize it was him. 

“Alex, that could get all over the internet. We know it’s fake, but the people looking at it…” Bobby trailed off in disgust.

“When they put it up I’ll lock it into place so that other websites can’t take it,” Alex offered. 

“What if they give the hard copy to someone else? What if they print it off and photocopy it themselves?”

“I’ll set the page so that it won’t print,” Alex suggested. “I’ll be able to shut the original down once we find Rebecca and they take down the leader.”

“So it will be impossible for anyone else to take it for another website?” Bobby asked. 

“Well,” Alex replied hesitantly, “that’s the idea, but if there’s a hacker who’s determined enough to get those photographs…”

“I am not okay with this.”

“Neither am I. But it’s all we’ve got.”

“Fine,” Bobby said. Alex could tell he wasn’t pleased with her, but he agreed that it was the only thing that they could do. 

 

“Bole!” Thompson exclaimed. 

“What?” Bole asked. 

“I think I’ve got something!”

Bole slid his chair over to his partner’s desk. “What did you find?” 

“I think that this is the original website, and… THIS IS IT!”

“Jesus, man,” Bole muttered, massaging his right ear. 

“Sorry, Bole – but look, look at this!”

Bole glanced at the screen. “Are those… yes, that’s them!” 

“Call Langley and Fisher,” Thompson instructed. “We said we’d keep them in the loop, and as far as I’m concerned, the more people on this the better!”

 

“That’s them!” Fisher exclaimed. “They’re all there!” 

Sure enough, displayed right on the homepage of the website were all six kidnapped girls. 

“Someone needs to call in the families,” Thompson said. “They’ll need to identify the girls, and I want to see if any of them can identify the men in these photographs.”

“I thought these were random snatches?” Langley asked. 

“That was the theory, but I want to be absolutely sure before we rule out a personal motive,” Thompson replied. “Bole and I will work on hacking the website to try and get an address, or at least something to go on. Langley and Fisher, if you’d be willing to talk to the families, we’d appreciate it.”

Langley and Fisher had been so interested in working on the investigation they had forgotten to be offended by the FBI being involved in their case. However, with just a moment’s hesitation, they nodded. They may not like Thompson presuming that he could give the orders, but they weren’t able to hack the websites anyway, so Thompson’s suggestion made sense. 

“We’ll bring the families in,” Fisher said. 

 

“Kirk,” Langley asked as gently as possible, “can you identify anyone in this photograph?” He and Fisher regarded the other detective carefully. 

Kirk was completely silent and expressionless as he gazed at the computer screen (there was a problem trying to get the page to print). He had known this moment was coming, but it still didn’t prepare him for it. “That’s my daughter,” he said after a time. 

“And the man?” Fisher asked. “Do you know him?”

Kirk had barely glanced at the man; he was more interested in looking at his daughter. He was frozen and staring at the photograph for a long time.

“Kirk?” Fisher asked. 

Kirk seemed to come out of a daze. He cleared his throat before replying, “No, no I don’t know him.”

He rushed out of the station quickly, heading back to his own house. Everyone felt too sorry for him to stop him, and they were unsure of what to say to him anyway. 

Kirk was fuming the whole way back. He waited until he was in his house before he finally released his anger. Shouting in rage, he began throwing things around his house and breaking whatever he could get his hands on. 

“I can’t believe I fell for your fucking act!” he raged, pitching a vase across his living room. He felt as though he could no longer see reason in anything. It was almost as though he had been set free in a way; he knew what he was going to do, and nothing was going to stop him. 

Kirk seized a table and overturned it, sending case files spilling all over the floor. He was no longer held down by moral obligations – right and wrong – there was always a grey area and he didn’t really care about doing the so called ‘right thing’ anymore. 

Kirk ripped a drawer out from his desk and turned it upside down. He frantically searched through the junk on the floor until he found what he was looking for. 

“Bullshit, I don’t FUCKING BELIEVE THIS!”

Kirk forced himself to stop breaking things long enough to put the code in for the lockbox. Still enraged, he pulled out the gun from the lockbox and began shoving the bullets into it. 

He knew what he was going to do now, and he didn’t want anyone to interfere with it. That was why he had lied to Langley and Fisher. Willow Kirk wasn’t the only person he had recognized from the photograph. He may have been disguised, and it may not have been a clear image in the photograph, but Kirk had spent too much time going over the case files and imagining the investigation he had worked on to not recognize the man. That man was Agent Robert Goren, and Kirk was going to hunt him down and kill him.


	10. Hunting

Kirk had been sure that he grabbed all the bullets from the drawer in his desk. He certainly didn’t want to run out. He didn’t know where Goren was, but he did have an idea of where to start looking. 

“So worried for your missing daughter,” Kirk muttered to himself. “What fucking bullshit. She was never missing at all! You probably hid her, you fucking bastard. Or maybe you killed her – and that’s why you needed a replacement! You thought Willow could take Rebecca’s place after you DESTROYED HER you fucking freak? Did you take Willow because she looked like Rebecca, or to distract me? Maybe both of those reasons – two for the price of one.” Kirk gave a hollow laugh. 

People were glancing at him nervously as he marched down the street. He didn’t notice, nor would he care if he had noticed. Kirk waited outside the building for someone to leave in order for him to grab the door before it shut. 

He marched up the stairs and walked down the hall until he reached the apartment he was looking for. He reached out and hammered on the door with his fist.

“Yeah, who is it?”

Kirk continued to pound on the door without responding. 

“Just a minute!” Kirk heard footsteps coming towards the door. There was a pause as the person on the other side of the door looked through the peephole, then the door opened. 

“Detective Kirk?” Mike Logan asked, surprised. “What brings you here?”

“Where’s Goren?” Kirk demanded. 

“What?” Mike asked. “I don’t know.”

Kirk pulled out his gun. “I said, where is Goren?”

“Okay man, calm down,” Mike said, raising his hands. “Let’s just relax and think about this.”

“Back up,” Kirk instructed. When Mike did he went in and closed the door. “Tell me where Goren is or I swear to God I’ll shoot you.”

“Why are you so determined to find him anyway?” Mike asked. He hoped if he could get Kirk talking he might get the chance to grab the gun, or something. 

“You fucking know why!” Kirk shouted. “You’re his friend; you must know where he is, so just tell me!”

“Kirk, I swear, I don’t know what you mean,” Mike replied. “And I don’t know where he is.”

“Tell me!” Kirk insisted. “Tell me or I’m going to pull the God damned trigger!”

“All I know is that he and his wife went to search for Rebecca,” Mike said as calmly as possible. “He didn’t tell me where they went.”

“Liar!” Kirk screamed, his eyes wide in a deranged sort of rage. “You know, you must know. Are you into kids too? Did the two of you tag-team his daughter?” 

“What?” Mike demanded, forgetting the situation for a moment. He dropped his hands and stared at Kirk in utter confusion. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Like you didn’t know your friend was a pedophile!” 

“You’re insane,” Mike said. 

“Oh I’m insane?” Kirk demanded, flecks of spit flying from his mouth. “I’m insane for not realizing the connection all along! The most connections were between the first two kidnappings; the two most similar girls were Rebecca and Willow! Tell me, is Rebecca already dead? Is he going to kill Willow when he’s done with her?”

“Bobby didn’t take your daughter!” Mike exclaimed. “He would never hurt Rebecca!”

“Oh no?” Kirk asked. “Then how do you explain a photograph of Goren and Willow on a website!”

“You’re wrong.”

“You’re wasting my time,” Kirk snarled. “Tell me where the fuck Goren is right now.”

“Kirk, I’m sorry about your daughter, but you’re making a mistake, you’re-”

But exactly what Kirk was, Mike didn’t say. Kirk had shot him. They both seemed equally shocked at what had happened for a moment, but Kirk had recovered from it quickly. 

“Tell me,” Kirk said. Mike was still standing, the gunshot wound was to the abdomen, but he had staggered over to the wall. He grabbed the wall to steady himself, and pressed his other hand into the wound to try and stop the bleeding. 

“Tell me where Goren is!” Mike slowly lowered himself to the ground. His legs were shaking and he wasn’t sure if they would support him for much longer. He thought he might be in shock. 

Kirk crouched in front of him and pressed the muzzle of the gun against Mike’s forehead. “Tell me where Goren is.”

“You’re going to have to kill me,” Mike told him. “Even if I did know where he was, I wouldn’t tell you. You’re chasing the wrong person.”

They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity before Kirk turned away. Without another word, he left. 

“Damn,” Mike muttered, looking down at the blood leaking between his fingers. He flopped onto his side and dragged himself towards the phone, since he didn’t trust himself to walk. His head was spinning, and now that his adrenaline had stopped pumping so much with Kirk gone, the wound was starting to cause him a great deal of pain. 

He called 911 to report being shot by Kirk. “The ambulance is on its way Detective Logan,” the 911 operator told him. Mike was holding the phone to his ear with one hand and was pulling himself towards his bedroom with the other. He was also using the elbow of the hand holding the phone to help pull himself across the floor. 

Bobby and Alex, he kept thinking. He had to warn them. They had given him a number for emergencies only – basically to call if there was any news on Rebecca’s case. The fact that a detective having a psychotic break was hunting Bobby down definitely qualified as an emergency. 

He kept the number hidden in his room, where others wouldn’t find it. He needed to get there; he had to warn his friends. 

“Detective Logan, you need to put pressure on the wound,” the 911 operator told him. 

“In a minute,” Mike replied. He cringed as he continued to make his way slowly and painfully to his bedroom. Looking back, he saw a trail of smeared blood leading from the entranceway to where he was now. 

“In a minute?” the operator repeated in confusion. “Detective, you need to put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding.”

“I know,” Mike gasped. “But first… I need to… I have to… warn them… warn…” He dropped the phone. He tried to pull himself forward again, but there was blackness closing in on the rapidly spinning room. “Wait,” he told his body, but the blackness was closing in over his visual field… 

Mike’s head hit the floor, and he didn’t move to lift it. He remained where he was until the EMTs got there. 

 

Alex was putting Willow’s hair into two braids. “There,” she said when she was finished, “you look beautiful. Come and see, Willow.”

Willow allowed Alex to lead her to the mirror. “Don’t you look lovely?” Alex asked. Willow raised her eyes to look at the reflection, but she didn’t respond. Other than saying ‘hi’ to Bobby on the first day, Willow hadn’t spoken at all. She was complacent in everything, allowing them to lead her around the house, doing what they asked. But she never spoke a word. The toys and books in her room hadn’t been touched. She would sit and watch a movie, she would listen if Alex read her a story, but she didn’t play. And she didn’t speak. 

Bobby and Alex thought it would be best if it was mostly Alex who interacted with Willow. She might be more willing to trust a woman. Hopefully she would learn that neither of them was going to hurt her, but she hadn’t made a sound in three days. 

Alex had mixed feelings every time she looked at Willow. Part of her desperately wanted to leave in order to reunite Willow with her parents. The other part of her knew that she had to stay where she was, for the good of her own daughter and for the other girls as well. Besides, they didn’t know where Willow was from. She could have been kidnapped from another continent for all they knew. 

Willow’s parents would understand, Alex told herself. They would understand that Alex and Bobby were trying to protect the other girls. And Willow was being well cared for; she was protected from the group. 

Then again, if someone had found Rebecca, and hadn’t returned her to them, how would Alex feel about that? Even if they were keeping her with the best of intentions, could Alex forgive them for not giving her daughter back? 

It was such a shade of grey, there was no clear right or wrong answer. Each area had its own benefits and failings. Either way, a sacrifice had to be made. Could Willow’s parents ever forgive Bobby and Alex? As parents, how could they not understand the reason behind Bobby and Alex’s actions? As parents, how could they ever forgive the people who kept their daughter from them?

Lost in thought, Alex had sunk to the ground. Willow remained standing in front of the mirror, but she was watching Alex’s reflection.

Alex just wanted Rebecca back. This whole thing was a nightmare. Rebecca being kidnapped, trying to blend into this community, the situation with Willow – it was all too much. Alex wished she could wake up and find that it had all been a terrible nightmare. 

Alex was still sitting on the floor, trying not to cry. She took deep, steadying breaths while trying to force herself to think about something else. Suddenly she looked up, and saw that Willow was right in front of her. The little girl lowered herself to the floor next to Alex and leaned against her. She slipped her little hand into Alex’s, still silent, but speaking volumes without words.

 

Kirk was ripping through files at Peters’ home office. He suspected that Peters had helped Goren to escape, and he probably hadn’t left that file at work. Kirk had flung the files all over. He had ripped them open, scanned them, and strewn them onto the floor. 

Finally, he found the one he was looking for. He scanned the notes that Peters had taken throughout his discussion with Goren, not bothering to really read them, just looking for a location. 

“California,” Kirk whispered. “I’ve found you now.”

 

“Sir, I’m sorry to interrupt,” Grant Waverly said. 

“What is it, Grant?” the man sitting at the desk asked. 

“You know how you had said that Kevin Kirk might become a problem, so you asked that someone keep an eye on him?” The man nodded thoughtfully. “Well, my guy said that he tailed Kirk to Mike Logan’s apartment, then to Dan Peters’ place. One of those guys must have told him where to go, because my guy said he’s heading this way.”

“Thank you, Grant.”

“Sir?” Waverly asked. 

“What is it?”

“The O’Donnell’s are in danger,” Waverly replied. “I don’t know if Kirk realizes they have Willow, but if he does, he’ll probably go after them.”

“I realize that.”

“Sir?” Waverly asked again. “Aren’t we going to warn them? I’d be happy to go over and get them. I won’t give them details; I’ll just explain that they need to go into hiding. I’ll say that Willow’s father was a dangerous criminal and he’s after them for revenge or something of the sort.”

“Thank you for your assistance Grant, but I will take it from here.”

“You’re going to warn the O’Donnell’s sir?”

“The O’Donnell’s will be taken care of.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Waverly let himself out. The man at the desk sat quietly for a moment, a small smile spreading across his lined face. 

“The O’Donnell’s are in danger,” he whispered to himself. “Of course they are, fool – that was the entire point.”


	11. The True Target Revealed

“Oh yes,” the man whispered to himself. “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. I’m a very patient man.” The man paused to consider his plan for a moment. 

“There are so many things that could have gone wrong,” he said to himself, “if you had only made different choices. But you acted exactly the way that I knew you would – you set your own traps, all of you.”

“Detective Goren and Detective Eames, you got one over on me, I’ll admit it. But you didn’t take me down. I went free. I’ll bet you never even gave me another thought after that day. But I gave you a thought… I’ve been watching, and waiting for my chance.”

“I was monitoring you from afar, and imagine my surprise, and delight, when I discovered that the two of you were getting married. Why delight? Because after marriage comes babies… and I was already in a good position to get revenge through a child. My only hope was that the child would be a girl, and I was delighted to see that the child was Rebecca Goren… my plan was set in motion.”

 _How lucky it was that I ended up here,_ the man thought. He had taken over this group after he had left New York. His business had gone down since the trial (here the man stopped to close his eyes and ball his hands into angry fists), and he could use the money since he was used to living large. 

He didn’t approve of these men, who claimed they loved children so much. He found them to be rather unpleasant company if truth be told, but how lucky that he was there. He had found them when had needed a place to bring the daughter of his disgusting disappointment of an ex-wife after he had her killed (he wouldn’t go so far as to say _his_ daughter). The men were more than willing to take the child (and _love_ her, he supposed). The child needn’t have lived, but the hit man who he hired to kill his ex-wife had brought him the girl, saying he didn’t kill kids. Well, it’s not as if he could just release the girl, she knew too much. It was how he had met up with this group, and eventually taken over. Of course, he had left out the part that the girl’s dead mother was his ex, and the child was technically his. 

He knew it would be torture for the two detectives who had ruined his life to see their precious daughter kidnapped, to know she had been given to child pornographers (they had a ‘look but don’t touch’ policy, but Goren and Eames needn’t know that). And as an added bonus, the cops had no idea that any of the two detective’s former cases had anything to do with child abuse, and had stopped looking before they’d found him. He doubted they would have looked far enough back anyway, but still, he was very lucky. 

And how much luck did he have? He discovered that the investigating officer had a daughter the same age as the Goren’s daughter, and who even looked similar. The opportunity was too good to pass up. He had been having Goren and Eames followed for a long time; he knew that when they left New York, they were heading here. He had gone to see for himself when ‘Patrick and Mandy O’Donnell’ had moved in. They hadn’t seen him, and he was confident they wouldn’t have recognized him anyway. They thought that they were so well hidden – he had known about them the moment they arrived. They had, in fact, walked directly into his trap. 

They had given him a golden opportunity. So he’d had someone snatch Willow Kirk. He needed to have other girls kidnapped after that to try and throw the investigation off, but it had been worth it. He’d thought he would have to plant evidence to lure Kirk to them, but when those incompetent FBI agents had found the picture on the website and shown Kirk, it hadn’t required any assistance on his part at all. 

And of course, he had predicted that Kirk would want to hunt them down himself, just as he’d been confident that Goren and Eames would come to search for their daughter themselves. It was too perfect. Kirk would take Goren out; the man’s hands would be clean. He smiled to himself. 

He wondered if Kirk would kill Eames as well as Goren. He didn’t think so; it was only Goren who he was after, really. The man hoped he wouldn’t kill Eames as well, because he wasn’t done with her yet.

He hated Goren of course, he hated all law enforcement, and Goren more than most. But it was Eames who was really the focus of his rage. Not only was she a woman in authority, she and Goren had been on his case. Goren may have been the one who thought of the way to entrap him, but the man could have gotten away with that. He did get away with it. But then Eames had taken what mattered to him most (except his own life of course). 

“Now you’re starting to understand,” the man said almost pleasantly. “Now you see. But I won’t stop until I’ve punished you as thoroughly as possible. How will you feel once your husband has been killed? And I have plans for your daughter… You’ll get your come-uppance. Oh yes you will.”

 

“Hello, Rebecca,” the man said softly. The small girl peered up at him cautiously from her position on the floor. The man gazed thoughtfully at her for a short time. 

“What?” she demanded after he had stared at her for long enough to make her uncomfortable. 

The man smirked – others had warned him that she had a fiery temper for one so young. She also seemed less afraid then the other girls, but then, she had been there the longest and children are remarkable at adapting. 

“I was just thinking,” said the man, “that you look an awful lot like your mother. You have the same eyes you know. Then again, you resemble your father too.”

Rebecca got up off of the floor and went closer to the man, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “You know my Mommy and Daddy?” she asked. 

“I do,” the man replied. 

“They’re looking for me,” Rebecca said haughtily. “Uncle Mike is helping them. They’re gonna find me, and you’re gonna be in big trouble.”

The man burst out laughing at the child’s audacity. He may not look very threatening, but still, not just any child would dare to speak to him like that. 

Rebecca had scuttled back into the corner, startled at his laughter. She eyed nervously from the ground. “What’s so funny?” she asked. 

“Nothing,” the man replied, calming himself. “Nothing is funny at all.” He forced his face into a sad expression. “I shouldn’t have laughed, but you were just so wrong that I had to.”

“What are you talking about?” Rebecca demanded. 

“You seem to think your parents are looking for you.”

“They are,” Rebecca replied, but she sounded slightly unsure.

“Rebecca, sweetheart,” he said gently, forcing himself to swallow his distaste at addressing her with such a sugar-coated voice. “Don’t you think that if they were looking, they’d have found you by now? It’s been months.”

“They wanna find me!” Rebecca said tearfully. “They’re not gonna stop looking!”

“Rebecca, I’m sorry to tell you this, but your parents stopped looking for you a long time ago.”

“I don’t believe you!” she sobbed.

“They’ve moved away and started a new life – one without you in it. They even adopted another little girl to replace you. They don’t need you anymore.”

“Really?” Rebecca asked, her voice scarcely more than a whisper. 

“Look, I have pictures,” the man told her. He pulled out a shot of Bobby and Alex in the car with Willow in the backseat. He turned the picture so she could see it, and then turned it away. He patted the seat next to him on the bed. “Come and see for yourself.”

Rebecca walked slowly over to him, still standing out of arm’s reach. Seeing her hesitation, he said to her, “I’m not going to hurt you, Rebecca. Come and sit.”

Rebecca perched cautiously on the edge of the bed and peered over his arm at the photograph in his hand. “That’s Mommy and Daddy,” she said, her little fingers tracing over their faces. “They have another little girl now.” Overcome by anger, she jabbed her finger at the photograph so that it ripped a hole through Willow’s face. “Don’t they miss me anymore?” she screeched. 

“No, Rebecca. They don’t miss you anymore – I told you, they have a new life now.”

Rebecca threw herself down on the floor and kicked it repeatedly while beating it with her fists. “WHY-DON’T-THEY-LOVE-ME-ANYMORE!” she screamed, tears rolling down her face. 

The man repressed a sigh with great difficulty. Temper tantrums – just one of the many reasons he didn’t want to keep his ex’s daughter. 

He crouched down next to her and placed a hand gently on her back. “You know,” he said loudly over her screams of rage, “this might be for the best anyway.”

Rebecca stopped yelling, and looked up at him with a tear-stained face. “What do you mean?”

“I mean your Mommy was a very bad person. It’s probably better that you’re away from her now.” 

Rebecca scrunched up her face, looking as though his words were not at all to her taste. “Mommy’s not a bad person.”

“She killed my son.”

Rebecca stared at him, looking utterly confused. “But… but Mommy catches the bad guys. She doesn’t kill anyone.”

“She killed my son,” the man repeated firmly, angrily. 

“No,” Rebecca said slowly. “My Mommy catches the bad guys – she never killed anyone.”

“She had a gun when she went to work, didn’t she?” the man asked. Rebecca nodded. “Why would she have a gun, if she didn’t want to kill anyone?”

“I don’t know,” Rebecca replied. “You’re making my head hurt.” She flopped her head onto her folded arms. 

“How do you know she wasn’t one of the bad guys herself?”

“Cause she said so?” Rebecca asked, unsure of how to answer. 

“Ah, but didn’t she say that she loved you too?”

Rebecca looked down sadly. “It wasn’t true.”

The man forced himself not to grin in triumph. She was easier to convince than he had guessed. “She’s a liar, and a murderer. She lied to you Rebecca, and she killed my boy. My boy,” the man whispered, almost as an afterthought. 

Rebecca got up and walked over to him, placing a hand on his arm. “Mister? Are you sure it was my Mommy who killed your son? Maybe it was a mistake,” she said hopefully. 

The man had been prepared for this. He pulled out the videotape he had bribed off of a crooked cop guarding the evidence lockers, and popped it into the VCR. It was the IAB interview with Eames, for the shooting of his son. He fast-forwarded to the important part.

“And is it true that the shot you fired killed the person in question?” the voice of an IAB cop asked. 

Rebecca stared at the screen, biting her lip. The video camera was focused on Eames. The woman was looking at the detectives questioning her. “Yes,” she replied. 

The man stopped the tape. “No!” Rebecca screamed. “Mommy, what are you saying? Bad Mommy! Bad, bad, bad! Mommy, you killed someone?” Rebecca sat down heavily on the floor. “Bad Mommy is a liar! Bad Mommy is a killer! Bad Mommy doesn’t love me anymore,” Rebecca’s voice got quieter until it was barely audible. “I don’t love bad Mommy anymore either,” she said resolutely. 

“I’m sorry Rebecca,” the man said. He opened his arms. Rebecca stood up and went over to him, wrapping her little arms around his neck. “Daddy doesn’t love me either?” she asked in a whisper.

“No,” the man replied. “Daddy has another little girl now.”

Rebecca howled even more loudly in his ear. The man held her for a long time, until she finally quieted. He lowered her back to the ground.

They remained silent for a time, before the man spoke again. “I have a grandson about your age.”

“How old is he?” Rebecca asked. 

“He’s nine years old,” the man replied.

“I’m only four, he’s not close to my age at all,” Rebecca corrected.

The man forced himself not to smirk at her again. “You’re right,” he conceded. “I forget sometimes, how much longer five years is to the young. It passes by all too quickly for me.”

“Hey mister?” Rebecca asked. “Do you think you could let me out of here?”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that Rebecca,” the man replied. “I would get in trouble. Why don’t you like it here anyway? You have a lovely bedroom, with many toys.”

“But I’m alone… except when the men come, and I don’t like them.”

“Why not?” the man asked, with false concern.

“They look at me funny,” she whispered. 

“But they never hurt you, right?” the man asked.

“No, they just play silly games and take pictures,” Rebecca replied. “But I still don’t like how they look at me.”

“I’ll talk to them,” the man offered. “Maybe you could come and live with me instead.”

“Really?” Rebecca asked. 

“I said maybe,” the man cautioned. “I would have to ask. And it might take some time.”

“But you’re my friend, right?” Rebecca asked. 

“Right,” the man replied. 

“Hey mister?”

“Yes?”

“What’s your name? I don’t know what to call you.”

“Well,” the man said thoughtfully, “why don’t you just call me Granddad. It’s what my grandson calls me.”

“But you’re not my granddad,” said Rebecca. “You’re my friend.”

“I know, but some people don’t think that it’s normal to have a friend so much older than you,” he said. “If they thought you were my granddaughter, they wouldn’t question it.”

“Okay,” Rebecca replied. “Okay, Granddad.”


	12. To the Breaking Point

“I still haven’t been able to get ahold of Kirk,” Mendel said, mildly concerned.

“Give the guy a break, he’s probably just locked himself in his house with the case file and is refusing to answer the phone,” Langley told him. 

“Yeah, maybe,” Mendel replied. “I think I’m going to drop by his place, just to make sure he’s alright.”

“He’s not,” Langley said matter-of-factly. “But, go ahead. He’s your partner.”

Mendel left, still looking concerned. Shortly after he left, Fisher came rushing into the room.

“Have you heard?” he demanded, skidding to a halt at his partner’s desk. 

“Heard what?” Langley asked.

“There’s an officer down, he’s heading into surgery right now,” Fisher informed him. 

“Who is it?” Langley demanded. 

“Mike Logan, Manhattan Homicide.”

“You mean Goren’s friend? The one Kirk and Mendel questioned?”

“One and the same.”

“You don’t think this has anything to do with the case, do you?”

“I don’t know, but it does seem odd.”

 

Mike’s eyes flashed open. He could see a tiled ceiling and a face peering down at him. 

“We’re about to begin the surgery Detective Logan,” a voice said from behind the paper mask. 

Mike tried to tell them to wait, but he was finding it very difficult to speak. 

“Shh, don’t try and talk now,” the same voice said. “You’re going to have surgery to remove the bullet. We’ll take good care of you detective.”

This person didn’t understand. Mike flailed his arms, trying to get their attention. “Wait!” he managed to gasp. “Must… warn…them…”

“What’s he trying to say?” someone asked. 

“I don’t know, but he’s lost a lot of blood, we need to get started.” 

There was a mask over his face. He tried to struggle against it, but there were people holding him down. 

“Try to relax detective, everything’s going to be fine.”

Everything was not fine, but Mike couldn’t tell them… His eyes drifted closed again. 

“Jeez, he was putting up quite a fight,” the surgeon commented. 

“He must not have realized he was safe now, he seemed pretty frightened,” a scrub nurse offered. 

The surgeon picked up the scalpel. “You’re in good hands Detective Logan,” he assured his unconscious patient. 

He opened the patient’s abdomen to see what damage had been done. Another surgeon was immediately suctioning away blood. 

“The bullet’s ripped through his intestines,” a surgical intern said in awe. 

“That’ll put him at high risk for infection,” another intern offered.

The surgeon nodded approvingly, but was still focused in the task at hand. 

“Would you look at that!” he exclaimed, causing the anesthesiologist to jump. “Two inches over and the bullet would have nicked his descending aorta. No way would he have survived that amount of blood loss.” The surgeon cast a glance at his patient’s face before returning to work with the bullet. “You are one lucky man, detective.” 

 

“Kirk’s house has been torn apart, and he’s not there!” Mendel told Langley over the phone. “Do you think someone was after him?”

“Is there any sign of blood?” Langley asked. 

“No,” Mendel replied. “But… his other piece is missing. The one he keeps in the lockbox at his house.”

“Do you think he figured something out about the case?” Langley asked. 

“He would have called me,” Mendel insisted. “I’m his partner he knows he can trust me.”

“But this is his daughter,” Langley said. “Isn’t it possible that he’s gone after her himself, just like Goren and Eames?”

“I guess so,” Mendel replied, defeated. “But how did he even know where to look?”

“I don’t know,” Langley replied, “But Thompson and Bole said they think they’re getting close to cracking the website. We’ll be able to hunt these creeps down soon enough – and hopefully we’ll find those girls so that this can all be over.”

 

Mike blinked his eyes open slowly. He chanced a glance around the room, and saw that he was in a hospital room. He had been in enough hospital rooms to recognize it right away. 

“Hey, nice to see you again, Sleeping Beauty,” a voice said. 

Mike turned his head carefully, as it was pounding at the moment, and saw Carolyn Barek sitting in the chair next to his bed. He could see that she was worried, despite her light tone of voice. 

“What’s going on?” he asked her. His head hurt quite a bit, as did his abdomen. 

“You’re in the hospital, Mike,” Carolyn replied. “You were shot. Do you remember?” She looked at him nervously. 

It came back in flashes – Kirk at his front door, the gunshot, calling 911, trying to warn Goren and Eames…

“Carolyn!” he exclaimed. He tried to sit up, but she shoved him back into the bed. He was a lot weaker than he thought, he flopped back weakly even though she hadn’t used much force. “Listen to me!” he insisted, deciding not to try and get up again. “There’s a phone number in a lockbox on the top shelf of my closet in my bedroom. I need you to call it – it’s Bobby and Alex’s.”

“Bobby and Alex?” Carolyn asked. “Mike, they disappeared months ago,” she said, looking more nervous now.

“I know,” Mike said. He needed to make her understand. “They gave me that number before they left so that I could call and warn them if something happened – you have to warn them!”

Carolyn covered her surprise well. “What do I have to tell them?” she asked. 

“That Detective Kirk is after Bobby, he’s the one who shot me, and he’s after Bobby! He thinks Bobby took his daughter, he’s going to hunt him down to kill him!”

“I’m on it,” Carolyn replied. “In the meantime, half the department is out waiting to see you.”

“I don’t want to talk to them,” Mike replied. “Kirk is their brother officer too, I doubt they’ll take well to hearing who it was that shot me. Tell them I fell asleep again.”

“Okay,” Carolyn replied. She turned to leave. 

“Carolyn?” he called after her. “Please hurry. And come back here after you call them, I need to know that they’ve been warned.”

Carolyn nodded. “You just focus on getting better,” she told him. She hurried out the door, giving excuses to the officers waiting outside the room, and headed to his apartment. She had her own key, of course. 

She shook her head as she rushed out the front doors of the hospital. Sometimes she wondered if her relationship with him was more trouble than it was worth – he managed to get himself into trouble all the time. And, she thought, he should have been honest with her about having the phone number. Then again, he was just protecting their friends. Loyalty was definitely one thing she could count on with him.

 

“Mendel!” his captain roared. “My office – now!”

Mendel suspected what this was about. He headed over to the captain’s office, shutting the door behind him. 

“Did you really tell the 911 operator to not report that it was Kirk who shot Detective Logan?” he demanded. 

“Captain,” Mendel said, “the guy was in shock, he didn’t know what he was saying-”

“You don’t know that!” the captain thundered. “You have no right to cover up information about a crime! That’s not only immoral – it’s illegal! You’ve wasted time that could have been spent looking for Kirk!”

“Captain-”

“I don’t want to hear it, Mendel!” “You’re on unpaid leave – and don’t be surprised if IAB shows up on our doorstep. Now get out of my sight!” 

Mendel rushed out of the office leaving his captain purple in the face and fuming. Mendel was angry too – he had just been protecting his partner. Logan was lying – he must be. Logan wasn’t a decent cop anyway, Mendel fumed. 

Mendel stopped back at Kirk’s house, thinking he might look for where Carol’s sister lived. She would need to be told what they suspected her husband of, and Mendel would rather she heard it from someone familiar. 

He stopped at the place where the case files had been strewn all over the floor. Kirk must have had some idea of where to go. Mendel paused, thoughtful. Maybe he had found out where Goren and Eames went – they had theorized that Goren and Eames had help figuring out where to search for Rebecca too. 

Forgetting about his original plan of locating Carol, Mendel pulled out his cellphone and dialed. 

“Agent Bole,” the voice said. 

“Yeah, Bole,” Mendel said. He hoped news of his suspension hadn’t reached the FBI yet. “I think that Kirk might have gone after his daughter, and maybe he followed Goren and Eames to wherever they went.”

“We don’t know where they are,” Bole replied. “We’re close to hacking this site anyway, Mendel, just wait until then. We’ll find the girls soon.”

“Do you have any idea of who might have helped them?” Mendel asked. 

“Well, there’s an agent who is on the same unit as Goren, and he used to work this unit,” Bole said, “But Thompson and I asked him a while back and he said that he didn’t help them, and we should leave them alone anyway. Like I said, we’re close to finding the creeps – and Peters couldn’t have given them anything more than a general idea – I doubt they’re close. Besides, if they had found their daughter we would have heard about it by now.”

“If they’re in the wrong place, that’s even more reason for me to find them,” Mendel countered. “They’ll want to know if we found their daughter. I’m not trying to jam them up, I just want to help. Just let me talk to the agent.”

Bole, back at the FBI office, glanced at his partner to get his opinion. Thompson shrugged. “This’ll all be over soon anyway. Mendel just wants to talk to Peters, worst that can happen is Peters refuses and gets pissed at us for annoying him.”

“His name is Dan Peters, but I don’t know that he’ll talk to you,” Bole told Mendel. 

“Thank you,” Mendel replied, and ended the call.

“Do you think he’ll talk to him?” Bole asked. 

“Does it matter?” Thompson answered with a question. “Get back to work.”

Bole did, and his conversation with Mendel was soon forgotten.

 

“Agent Peters?” Mendel asked. The man turned around. “I’m Josh Mendel, I was originally working Rebecca Goren’s case.”

Peters walked over to him. “Like I told Thompson and Bole, leave them alone,” he said, guessing what Mendel was going to ask. 

“Listen,” Mendel said, “I know that you and Goren are friends. Well, Kirk is my partner. I think he might be following Goren and Eames to try and find his daughter. Please, I don’t want to stop them from looking for her, I just want to help.”

Peters looked as though he had just figured something out. “Walk with me,” he instructed. Mendel obliged – the two men had turned away from the FBI building and towards the parking garage. “Your partner is being investigated for shooting Mike Logan.” Before Mendel could argue, Peters continued, saying, “I know about your suspension too. I understand that your partner is just trying to find his daughter, but that’s no excuse for what he did. I think he might have snapped after seeing the picture of his daughter. Don’t argue-”, Mendel had looked like he was going to retort, “-I know he shot Detective Logan, and if you’re right, and he’s trying to find Goren and Eames, I think he may have found out where they are.”

“So you do know where they are?” Mendel asked. 

“Make it official, and I’ll deny everything,” Peters replied. “You’re a cop on suspension, I’m a well-respected Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I don’t like to pull rank, but I will to protect Goren and Eames – especially when I’m certain that they are doing the right thing.” He gazed at Mendel, determining whether or not he could trust him. He wished he was as good a profiler as Goren. 

“I don’t want to jam anybody up,” Mendel said. “I just want to help Kirk. He’s a good cop – this destroyed him. I just want to help him, because if it’s true that he shot Detective Logan, then I have to protect him before he gets into a situation where he won’t get out alive.”

Peters nodded. “Someone broke into my home office last night. From what you’ve told me, it was probably Kirk. I had a file in there with information about where they went.”

“Where?” Mendel asked. 

“Are you going to report what I tell you to your captain, or anyone else?”

Mendel laughed hollowly. “I’m a disgraced cop on suspension – my captain wouldn’t believe me anyway. I’m only on suspension until they fire me, I’m sure. Even if I could tell anyone, I wouldn’t. I get it now, Agent Peters. There are things more important than the law… I was wrong to look for them in the first place.” 

Peters opened the driver’s side door of his vehicle. “I won’t tell you where they are, but I’ll take you. If you’re really just trying to help your partner, that shouldn’t be a problem.”

Mendel nodded. 

“Get in,” Peters said. They both climbed into the car, Mendel in the passenger seat. “You agree to not tell anyone about this?”

“I won’t,” Mendel promised, sincere. 

Peters nodded, and started the car. 

“Thank you, Agent Peters.”

“Josh, we are now two law enforcement officers not technically breaking the law, but bending it to the breaking point. I think it would be better if you call me Dan.”

 

Alex was in Willow’s bedroom, colouring pictures with her. The little girl had finally started to open up. She didn’t speak very often yet, but any communication was welcomed. She never commented about her feelings, nor did she mention her time before she came to Bobby and Alex, but Alex didn’t push her. She would wait until Willow felt more secure before asking her about her past. Maybe she would be able to tell the something that would help them find Rebecca. It was hard not to question her, but Alex didn’t want to push her back into her silence. 

Bobby was in the kitchen, making lunch for them. He looked up – he thought he heard the front door open. He left the sandwiches on the counter and went to see which of their neighbors had dropped in. Most of them usually knocked…

Alex and Willow both jumped as they were startled by shouting. The voice sounded familiar, but Alex couldn’t place it. She thought she heard Bobby trying to calm whoever it was down. 

Alex rushed down the hall, and entered the kitchen just in time to see Kirk firing a shot at Bobby, who immediately crumpled to the ground. She was momentarily frozen with shock. Her instinct would have been to draw her weapon, but she didn’t have one on her. 

Willow had slipped into the kitchen unnoticed, as everyone’s attention was focused elsewhere. It was she who broke the silence. How much of what she understood about what had just happened wasn’t clear, but she looked up at Kirk with a mingled expression of shock and horror. “Daddy!” she exclaimed. “Daddy… you just killed my Dad!”


	13. The New Plan

Kirk’s eyes strayed from the man on the floor to the little girl in the doorway. “Willow,” he whispered. 

Alex snapped out of her daze. She would have liked to be in three places at once, but her mother instinct took over. She launched herself at Willow, picked her up, and placed her behind the wall out of harm’s way – and also where she couldn’t see what was happening. “Stay there,” she told Willow. 

She rushed back out and saw Kirk was crouched on the ground next to Bobby. “Not… in front… of your daughter,” Bobby wheezed. Alex felt relieved only for a moment. _He was alive._

“Like you care about my daughter!” Kirk screamed. 

Seeming to forget that she was a tiny woman with no weapon, Alex launched herself at Kirk, fastening her arms around his neck and pulling him away from Bobby. 

Perhaps surprised that she had done something so stupid, Kirk dropped the gun, and for a moment he struggled against her grip. But he was easily eighty pounds heavier than her – he launched both of them backwards. Alex hit the ground and was trapped between the man and the floor. All the air seemed to have been forced out of her lungs – her grip slackened as she struggled to breathe. 

Kirk pulled away from her, and picked up the gun again. Alex struggled to get up, choking as she gasped for air. 

Willow had ignored Alex’s order. She was back in the room, on her knees next to Bobby, who now seemed to be unconscious. Alex raced back over to them. 

“Willow,” Kirk called to her. Alex had stood up, and was standing in front of the little girl. “Willow, come here,” he said. “It’s okay, you’re okay now. Come here.”

Willow peeked out from behind Alex’s legs. She took one frightened look at this man with a gun, who had shot Bobby. But this was her Daddy, after all. Willow hesitantly began to walk towards him, but Alex grabbed her and stepped in front of her again. 

“Kirk,” Alex said, “You’re scaring her. Why don’t you put the gun down, and we can talk.”

“Let go of my daughter!” Kirk yelled. “There’s no talking to be done! That man is a pedophile – and he’ll die for what he did to my daughter!”

“What?” Alex demanded. “He isn’t – he never hurt Willow!” Alex chanced turning her back on Kirk long enough to swing Willow back behind the wall again. “You’re the one who’s hurting her – do you know how scared she must be to see what you’ve done!”

Kirk seemed to be losing any self-control he had. His hands were shaking as he pointed the gun at Bobby. Alex threw herself on the ground next to him and pressed her hands onto his bloodstained chest. Bobby’s eyes were open again, they were seeking Alex’s face. 

“Hey,” she whispered, leaning down close to him. “Hang on,” she told him. She turned to look at Kirk. “I swear we never hurt your daughter. I can explain everything, but please, you have to let me get him to a hospital!”

“You’re lying!” Kirk told her. “That or your just blind to what he is! I’ve seen it with my own eyes!” 

The photograph on the website, Alex realized. He must have recognized Bobby, although he was disguised enough that she wouldn’t have thought it possible. She didn’t have time to dwell on it though as her eyes were drawn back to Bobby. He was spitting blood onto the floor. 

“Damn it!” Alex swore, pressing her hands harder into the gunshot wound to his chest, hoping to at least stop the external bleeding. Bobby’s face was a pale grey colour. He was trying to say something, but it resulted in more blood spilling down his chin. 

“Shh,” Alex told him. “Don’t try and speak.” She turned to look at Kirk again. “Think about Willow!” she tried. “She doesn’t want this – she’s terrified! I swear we never hurt her – it wasn’t us who took her. We were going to bring her back, but we had to figure out who was behind this… Kirk please – do the right thing!”

“You’re trying to trick me!” Kirk insisted. “Now step aside – I don’t want to hurt you, I just want Goren!”

Bobby tugged on Alex’s arm weakly. “Alex,” he whispered. There was a slight gurgling sound to his speech, as it was coming through blood. “Alex… protect Willow… go…”

“I’m not leaving you!” she said fiercely, still eying Kirk. 

“Get out of the way, or die with him!” Kirk shouted. 

“Save yourself and Willow… find Rebecca… go, Alex… please… let me die… knowing you’re safe…”

“Shut up,” Alex said tearfully. “Don’t talk nonsense, Bobby, you’re going to be fine, okay? Do you hear me?”

Kirk marched forward with his gun ready, Alex got up to throw herself at him in a last-ditch effort to stop him, Bobby struggled to remain conscious…

“Daddy, NO!” Willow had returned to the room. Distracted, Kirk looked towards her, giving Alex the chance to grab the gun. Kirk fired wildly, sending a bullet through the kitchen cabinet, and though Alex’s hand erupted in pain from the burn of the metal muzzle of the gun, she kept her grip. She twisted, pulling it from Kirk. With all the force she could muster, she brought the butt of the gun crashing down onto Kirk’s head. Without a sound, he too crumpled to the floor. 

Willow burst into terrified sobs. Unsure of who to trust, or who the most frightening person in this situation was, she broke down completely. She sank to the floor, dropped her head onto her knees, and covered her head with her arms while she rocked forwards and backwards and wailed. 

Again, Alex had to fight the urge to be in three places at once, and again, she found that her mothering instinct was the strongest. After pitching the gun across the room (getting it away from Kirk in case he woke up and leaving both her hands free quickly) she rushed towards the little girl on the floor.

“Willow,” Alex whispered. “Willow, it’s okay, shh, it’s going to be okay.” Alex chanced placing a hand on the little girl’s shoulder. Willow looked up at Alex. “You killed my Daddy,” she said accusingly. 

“No, Willow, he’s not dead. He’s going to be fine. I just didn’t want him to hurt anyone else.”

Still wanting to be in three places at once, Alex now moved over to Bobby and pressed her hands into the wound again. 

“Daddy tried to kill your husband,” Willow whispered. “Daddy said he’d kill you too! Why would he do that?”

“He’s just scared Willow; he just wanted to find you.”

Willow’s face clouded over. She didn’t know what to believe. She loved her Daddy, but he had just threatened to kill the two people who had been taking care of her. Alex had been nice to her, but she had attacked Willow’s Daddy. But she had done it because Daddy had attacked someone… 

Willow was undecided for a long moment, then came to the simplest conclusion. She would seek comfort from the only conscious person in the room. She got up and launched herself at the woman. She fastened her arms around Alex’s neck and her legs around Alex’s waist, almost bowling her over in the process. 

“Okay,” Alex said. “It’s okay. Willow, I’m just going to set you down while-”

She was interrupted by Willow screaming loudly and tightening her grip. When Alex had tried to gently pry her off, Willow screamed louder than ever and tightened her grip so that it was nearly vice-like. Apparently she had decided that Alex was the person she was going to trust, and she wasn’t about to let go.

Accepting that she wasn’t going to set the four-year-old down, Alex got up and rushed over to the kitchen drawers with Willow still wrapped around her. She rifled through the drawers until she found what she was looking for – duct tape. 

Alex wrapped it around both of Kirk’s wrists, and his ankles, and then dragged him over and bound him to a table leg. Not the most effective, but it would have to do. She then returned to Bobby and pressed her hands against the wound again, staunching the blood flow. He was unconscious again, but Alex could see and hear that he was still struggling for breath.

Suddenly, there was banging on the door. “Mr. and Mrs. O’Donnell, this is the police! There was a report of shots fired at this residence! If you’re able to speak, please answer us now!”

“We’re in here!” Alex called. “My husband has been shot! I taped up the crazy man!” She had been tempted to say that she had disarmed the suspect – but that wasn’t housewife jargon. Now more than ever she needed to maintain cover. 

Kirk’s eyes opened as the door burst open. He struggled against the tape that bound him, but Alex had used the whole roll – he wasn’t escaping. 

The police burst in, their guns immediately trained on Kirk. She heard one of the officers calling an ambulance. 

“That’s my daughter!” Kirk spat. “They took her from me; that man is a child molester!”

Alex knew what she had to do. She burst into huge, fake sobs. “Oh, he’s crazy!” she cried. “I don’t know what he’s talking about!”

“They’re cops from New York – they took my daughter after they faked the kidnapping of their own!” 

“He’s lying!” Alex sobbed. “He’s lying, Willow is our daughter! We just adopted her from Nebraska – we’ve never even been to New York! I have the adoption papers to prove it! He’s a crazy man – he shot my husband!” She just prayed that Willow didn’t contradict anything she was saying. Willow, however, had gone back to her silence. She hadn’t spoken a word since Kirk was taped to the table leg. 

“It’s alright Mandy,” one of the officers said. He lived a block away, and had known the O’Donnell’s for months – or at least, he thought he did. “We don’t believe a word this lunatic is saying.” 

“No!” Kirk yelled. “She’s lying! Her name isn’t Mandy – it’s Alexandra Eames – she was a detective in New York, look it up!”

“Okay buddy,” one of the officers said. “You tell that to the shrink.” They started to cut off the duct tape, handcuff’s ready. 

“He’s crazy!” Alex shouted again. 

“It’s alright, Mandy, we know,” the officer said. “It’s going to be okay.”

“I’m not crazy; I’m telling the truth!” Kirk shouted. “Willow – tell them! Tell them who I am!” 

The cops looked to Alex, who was still holding Willow. One of them walked over to look at the child. 

“Henderson, you don’t believe this lunatic, do you?” the officer who lived the next block over asked. 

“I’m just going to make sure there hasn’t been some mistake,” Henderson said. 

“You don’t think we took this child!” Alex demanded, panicking. If Willow told them that Kirk was her father… “Jackson?” she pleaded with the officer she knew. 

“We don’t suspect you, Mandy,” Jackson Branch said. “But if there was some illegal activity with the adoption agency, then we need to know.” 

“Willow,” Henderson asked gently. “Do you know this man?” But Willow was either unwilling or unable to answer. She stared blankly at the wall, making no response, as though she hadn’t heard. 

“She’s traumatized!” Alex snapped, backing away from Henderson. “Leave her alone! She’s traumatized because that crazy man shot my husband!”

“Henderson,” Branch warned. “Just leave it. I think they’ve been through enough.”

The paramedics had come in and were now wheeling the gurney out with Bobby strapped to it. Alex rushed over to them. “Is he going to be okay?” she asked. 

“It’s hard to tell at this point, ma’am,” one of them replied. “We’ll do everything we can.”

She was forced to watch, as they lifted him into the ambulance and shut the doors. 

“Mandy,” Branch offered, “I’ll take you to the hospital myself. Lights and sirens, we’ll be there in no time.”

“No,” Alex said. It felt wrong, so wrong, to not even go and find out if he was going to live. But he had wanted her to find Rebecca, and if she was to do that she had to act. Kirk had found them – it was only a matter of time before other New York law enforcement showed up. And when they did, her cover would be blown, and she might lose Rebecca forever. When had anything felt right in these past couple of months?

“No,” she repeated, “I’m going to look for someone to watch Willow – I don’t want her to be at the hospital waiting with me. I’ll be there when I can.”

She turned away from them and went back to their bedroom, where she dug out the gun they kept there. 

“There’s something off about her,” she overheard Henderson saying. 

“Her husband was shot right in front of her by some psychotic bastard,” Branch snapped. “Of course there’s something off!”

“Why doesn’t she want to go to the hospital then?” Henderson countered. “She should be worried about what’s happening to her husband! She shouldn’t have been thinking clearly – worrying about Willow waiting at the hospital. She was too calm – she’s going to snap if she keeps it up.” 

“Calm?” Branch demanded. “She was screaming about that guy being crazy! She was practically hysterical!”

“Did you look at her eyes?” Henderson countered. “Not a tear – she was faking. She’s on a mission – I don’t know what it is, but she’s up to something. Her eyes were calm, not terrified, not angry, not any of the emotion you would expect.”

Alex walked out of the room, Willow still wrapped around her with her chin resting on Alex’s shoulder. Both Henderson and Branch looked uncomfortable. 

“Did you want me to cry?” Alex asked icily. “Because I don’t think that it would help anything. Let me tell you that my only priority is to look after my family. Don’t ever question that.”

“Mrs. O’Donnell,” Henderson said, “I’m sorry, it’s just that I have experience with this sort of situation, and it isn’t healthy to hold everything in.”

“I’m fine,” Alex replied. It was true what Henderson said. She had an idea of what she was going to do – and as long as she had that to focus on she would not break down. She had a new plan – and Henderson was not going to stop her.

“Mandy,” Branch said, “we just want to help. We… Oh, Mandy.”

Alex had lowered herself to the ground, and closed her eyes. With some effort, she managed to squeeze tears out from under her eyelids. “I’m just trying to be strong,” she sobbed. “Because Patrick is the strong one, you know, but I have Willow to think about…” she broke off into sobs. She would never get out of here if she didn’t convince Henderson to be less suspicious. She stroked Willow’s hair and sniffed loudly. 

“Mandy, you managed to take down a man twice your size – I don’t think you have to worry about being strong,” Branch joked. Alex smiled slightly and half laughed/half sobbed. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.”

“No, I… I’m going to take Willow to a friend’s house, then I’ll head over to the hospital,” Alex said.

“Do you want me to drive you?” Branch offered.

“No, it’s fine, really.”

“If you’re sure,” Branch said hesitantly. “It’s really no problem.”

“I’m sure,” Alex said. She left with baited breath, but no one tried to stop her. She went to the car, convinced Willow to release her hold, and strapped the girl into the booster seat. Then she got into the driver’s seat and pulled away. 

She knew exactly where she was headed – and it was not to a friend’s house. She was still in denial about what had happened to Bobby – she wasn’t going to let herself think about it. She set her jaw in determination as she accelerated the engine. She was going to find Rebecca.


	14. A Different Child

“I have good news, Rebecca.”

“What is it Granddad?” the little girl asked. She bounded over to him. 

“You’re going to come and live with me,” the man said, smiling. Rebecca threw her arms around him. 

“Really?” she asked. 

“Really,” he replied. 

She released him and danced around the room happily. Her ‘granddad’ had been visiting her for a while now. He was very nice to her – Rebecca liked him very much. She had no reason to suspect him. She believed that it was the other men who held her captive. Her friend, her ‘granddad’ was just trying to help her. She had almost forgotten about her old life in New York – it was like a dream to her now. 

“There’s just one thing we have to do first,” he said. She looked up at him questioningly. “We have to make you look different.”

“Why do I have to look different?” she asked. “Don’t you like the way that I look?”

“There are still some police officers looking for you,” the man replied. “If they find out that it’s you, they’ll take you away from me and send you back to your parents. Is that what you want?”

“No!” Rebecca cried fearfully. “I want to stay with you!”

“And I want you to stay too,” the man said. 

Rebecca allowed him to make the changes to her appearance. She only sniffled a little as locks of her long hair fell to the floor. She sat quietly while one of the men (a hairdresser) cut her hair to give her bangs. She didn’t make a sound while he dyed her hair red. She even managed a small smile as they permed it. Her formerly long, wavy, brown hair was now short, red, and curly. She blew on her bangs experimentally. “These are tickly,” she said. 

The man handed her a pair of false glasses. “These are your glasses,” he told her. “You can’t see without them.”

“I don’t need glasses,” Rebecca replied.

“These are your glasses,” the man repeated. “You can’t see without them.”

“Yes I can!” Rebecca insisted.

“These are your glasses,” the man said for the third time. “You can’t see without them.”

“Okay,” Rebecca replied, uncertain. 

“What are these?” the man asked, handing them to her. 

“These are my glasses,” Rebecca replied, putting them on. “I can’t see without them.”

“Good girl,” the man said approvingly. Rebecca grinned at him. 

“Now, go get changed, then we’ll go,” he told her. He handed her a designer child’s outfit. He spared no expense in any aspect of his life – not even Rebecca’s fashion. 

She came back wearing her new outfit – a jean jacket over a tank top with jewels around the neckline, a mini-skirt, and knee-high designer boots. Goren and Eames had preferred to dress her like most other children – overalls, jeans, simple dresses. With her new hairstyle, false glasses, and completely different clothing style, she looked like a different child. 

The man held out his hand. Rebecca slipped hers into his. 

“Let’s go home,” he told her.

 

Carolyn had returned to Mike’s hospital room. “There was no answer,” she told him. She went up to the bed to get a closer look at him. “Are you feeling alright?” she demanded, her eyes wide with worry.

He looked as though he had aged in her absence, and she hadn’t been gone more than an hour (she’d had to fight to get into the crime scene in his apartment, and the traffic had been brutal). His skin had turned pallid, and he looked weak. His seemed to be having difficulty keeping his eyes locked on her, as though she was slipping in and out of focus. 

“I’m fine,” he whispered hoarsely. “Don’t worry about me. Did you try calling again?”

“I called three times, there was no answer,” Carolyn replied. “You don’t suppose Kirk already got to them?”

“I hope not,” Mike replied. 

“I’m going to call a nurse,” Carolyn said worriedly. “You really don’t look well.”

“I said not to worry!” Mike insisted, his voice barely rising above a whisper. “You need to find them,” Mike told her. “Make sure they’re okay. I’d go myself, but…” He broke off and attempted to laugh. 

Knowing how stubborn he was, Carolyn decided to stop arguing, and instead rushed forward and pressed the call button before he could argue. 

“Carolyn!” he hissed irritably. 

“Michael Logan – you were shot, you’re in a hospital, and you are going to let someone take care of you!” she snapped. “Don’t argue!” she told him when he opened his mouth. 

A nurse entered the room. 

“Will you please take a look at him?” Carolyn asked. 

“How are you feeling, Detective Logan?” the nurse asked. She began to check his vitals.

“Peachy,” Mike replied, still glaring at Carolyn. She glared right back at him. The nurse asked a couple more questions, and also continued to assess him. “I think you might have an infection, Detective Logan,” she told him. “I’m going to get your doctor.” She bustled out of the room.

“You see!” Carolyn snapped. “I knew you weren’t okay – don’t try and play the hero with your health, Mike!”

“Carolyn, I’m serious, you need to find Bobby and Alex. You need to help them, because I can’t!”

“Mike, I’m not going to leave you when you’re this sick to go on a wild goose chase! Bobby and Alex probably covered their tracks well enough that I have no hope of finding them.”

“But we know them,” Mike replied. “We’ll have the best chance of finding them.”

He was prevented from saying anything further as the doctor, accompanied by two nurses, entered the room. 

“Go,” Mike told her. She did as he’d asked, but didn’t know where to begin looking. They would have needed help. Carolyn would start by looking at both of their colleagues. It wasn’t much to go on, but it was something. 

 

“Branch?” Henderson asked. 

“What?”

“There was a famous case in New York, a couple months back where little girls with parents in law enforcement were kidnapped.”

“That guy is insane,” Branch said angrily. “Forget what he said, Henderson, he probably saw the news and then invented a story about that girl being his kidnapped daughter.”

“What did the guy say Mandy’s real name was?” Henderson ploughed on.

“Alana Beans or something, I don’t know,” Branch replied. 

“No, it was Alexandra…” Henderson mused. “Wasn’t that the name from the mother of the first girl who was kidnapped in New York?”

“I don’t remember” Branch replied. “But it’s probably a coincidence even if it was Alexandra, I mean, it’s a common enough name.”

“The child’s name was Rebecca,” Henderson mused. 

“Rebecca Goren,” Branch supplied, remembering. “And whatever that man said her last name was, it definitely wasn’t Goren. Can you drop it now?”

Henderson shook himself mentally. He shouldn’t have let the suspect get into his head.

 

Carolyn had returned to Mike’s hospital room with a list of Bobby and Alex’s colleagues, past and present, and her laptop. She was hoping he could help her in figuring out who had helped their friends. 

They had started Mike on a heavy dose of anti-biotics, and he was responding well. He was already looking better than he had when she left. 

“Carolyn?” he asked. She nodded to show that she’d heard. “What are the other cops saying about… about Kirk?”

“Mike,” she said seriously, “most of them are on your side. Kirk was in the wrong here, not you.”

“Most?” he asked. 

Carolyn sighed. “Look. You’re never going to get everyone’s support. There are cops who have worked with Kirk, but don’t know you at all – it’s no wonder they would support him.”

“You’re right,” Mike replied. “And they haven’t found him yet?”

“No, and you can bet that there are a lot of people searching.”

Mike had no doubt that they were – a cop shooting a fellow officer would have everyone shaken up.

Together, they worked their way through a number of possible detectives and FBI agents before Carolyn thought she might have found the right one. “Mike, Bobby worked with an agent who used to be in with the child cyber-abuse team!”

“He could have given them access to the FBI’s file!” Mike exclaimed. “But that still doesn’t explain how they knew where to go. If the FBI had found a possible location for the girls, surely they would have sent a team there to investigate?”

“Bobby and Agent-”, Carolyn consulted the list of names, “-Peters must have worked on it until they had determined a location together.”

“Yeah, but if they figured it out, why didn’t they inform someone?” Mike asked. “They would have had the full force of the NYPD and FBI behind them!”

“Maybe they needed to do something that the NYPD and FBI wouldn’t allow,” Carolyn said darkly. 

“You’re not suggesting…” Mike trailed off. “I thought he was lying, or just crazy, but Kirk said that he had seen Bobby in a photograph with his daughter from the website Thompson and Bole found.”

“You don’t think they have his little girl, do you?” Carolyn asked. “You don’t think they would just allow her to be abused and not bring her back to-”

“No!” Mike snapped. “Of course they wouldn’t. I don’t care how desperate they were, they would never allow her to be abused – no way!”

“Then how do you explain what Kirk saw?” Carolyn asked nervously. 

“I don’t know… maybe they doctored the photograph or something. That’s possible, right?”

“It’s possible,” Carolyn replied, keeping her voice neutral.

“These are our friends,” Mike said irritably. “You can’t seriously suspect them of this?”

“No,” Carolyn replied quickly. She sighed. “I don’t think that it is how it looks. But Mike, imagine Kirk seeing that. He doesn’t know them – even we were shocked, for a moment anyway.”

“This is a complete disaster,” Mike muttered. 

Carolyn nodded, then continued to search something on her computer. “Peters called in sick today,” she said. 

“He must have gone after them,” Mike agreed. “Can you track him?”

“I’m sure he’ll have disabled his GPS… yes it was disconnected at a gas station in Manhattan.”

“What now?” Mike asked, starting to get up.

“Now,” Carolyn replied, shoving him back again, “you wait here while I go and talk to Peters’ wife.” 

 

“We’ve got a GSW to the chest, extensive blood loss,” a paramedic informed the team of surgeons waiting at the hospital. 

The surgeons took hold of the gurney and wheeled it hurriedly to an operating room. 

“Pulse is thready, and he didn’t regain consciousness the whole way here,” the paramedic continued. “And I don’t know if it matters, but the guy was wearing coloured contacts.” When the paramedics had tried to check his pupils, they had discovered one of the contacts askew. 

The group of medical professionals arrived at the operating room. People were attaching wires to the patient and they were all speaking loudly and quickly. Someone slopped iodine on his chest, and almost immediately a scalpel had replaced the hand holding the bottle. 

“Crack his chest,” the head surgeon instructed. 

With a loud crack, they pulled the rib cage apart, allowing the surgeon to get started on his top priority – saving the heart. 

The unconscious man on the table continued to fight for his life. He would keep himself alive out of sheer stubbornness; he would not allow himself to die before he knew his daughter was safe.


	15. Rescue

Alex slammed on the breaks and screeched to a halt outside one of the houses that had become familiar over the past months. She hesitated only a moment before she went to get Willow from the backseat – she couldn’t just leave her in the car. 

Alex rushed into the house with the little girl in tow. She entered without knocking. She could only hope that the man wasn’t in the same room as the child…

Alex snuck quietly up the stairs and slowly opened one of the doors. She pressed her finger to her lips when the girl turned to look at her. It was lucky she had become so familiar to the little girl; Hailey simply went back to what she was doing. 

“Willow,” Alex whispered, “you need to stay in here with Hailey. I’ll be back for you girls soon, but I need you both to stay in here. Did you hear that, Hailey?”

Hailey nodded. She might have thought it was a strange request, but she had no desire to leave her bedroom anyway. Willow sat down on the floor, still silent. It seemed that she had completely regressed to the point she was at when she first came to Bobby and Alex. To make sure they didn’t hear anything they shouldn’t, Alex turned on the television in the corner of Hailey’s room.

Alex left and closed the door. Then she went to the next room: Blake Green’s office. 

She entered and shut the door. At the sound, Blake turned sharply. “Mandy!” he gasped. “You startled me; I didn’t even hear you come in.” He stood up and smiled. Alex did not return his smile. 

“Tell me, Blake,” Alex asked dangerously. “Tell me who it is that runs your group.”

Blake’s smile faltered, but he attempted valiantly to laugh it off. “Do you mean our poker night?” he asked lightly. “Patrick could tell you, there’s no leader, just a bunch of guys-”

“Poker night, right,” Alex commented, her voice still low and dangerous. “Well, Patrick isn’t in any fit state to tell me anything right now.”

“What do you mean?” Blake asked. There was definitely a note of panic in his voice now.

“I mean he’s been shot by a man from New York, who claimed Willow was his missing daughter. Tell me who took her.” Alex advanced on him, the expression on her face making her look threatening despite her size. “Tell me who has been stealing the children – and where are they now?”

“Mandy, there must have been some kind of mistake,” Blake said, backing up. “The guy must be insane, because-”

“Yes, that’s what I told the cops,” Alex said. She laughed manically, making Blake step back again and look extremely nervous now. He probably thought she was insane too. That was fine by her, the more nervous he was, the more likely he would tell her something. “It’s not true though, is it?” she asked him. “Tell me where to go.”

“I’m sorry about Patrick, but I can’t help you,” Blake said. He was now sizing her up, determining how best to overpower her, Alex knew. There was nothing else for it. She pulled out her gun. 

“Whoa!” Blake exclaimed, stepping back again. “Calm down, Mandy. Just put the gun down, okay?” There were beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He was terrified. 

“You’re going to tell me something that I can actually use,” Alex told him, her voice one of deadly calm. “I need to find the rest of the girls. Where are they being kept?”

“I swear I don’t know!” Blake cried, cowering against the wall. “I don’t know where they are!”

“But you knew they were kidnapping girls?” Alex asked. 

“I didn’t, not for sure… I didn’t have a part in it really, I-” he broke off in a terrified squeal as Alex took a step towards him. 

“But you knew about the so called adoption agency, didn’t you?” Alex demanded.

“Alright, yes, I knew!” He had pressed himself against the wall as closely as he could. 

“Where do they keep the girls?” Alex demanded. 

Blake tried a different tactic. “Jen’s going to be home soon, she’ll call the police. You’d better get out of here before she does, because-” He was interrupted by Alex laughing. “What?” he asked. 

“You know, men really are terrible with remembering,” Alex said almost pleasantly. “That or you assume that I am.” When Blake was obviously racking his brain to figure out what she was talking about, she rolled her eyes and said, “Jen told me last week that she was visiting her sick mother in Florida! She’s not due back for a couple of days, and she foolishly left Hailey here with you,” Alex spat in disgust. “So, Blake, that means no one is coming. It’s just you and me.” She smiled at him in a way that made him attempt to back up even further, but he was unable to. 

“Mandy,” he asked weakly, “What good can possibly come from this?”

“What good?” Alex asked. “I am going to find those girls. Tell me where they are kept!”

“I don’t know,” Blake repeated. “Really I don’t. But I can tell you who would know.”

“I’m listening.”

“Angus Townsend, he’s been in the group for a long time, so he knows some influential people, and-”

“Where can I find him?” Alex demanded. 

Blake gave her an address. “Now I’ve told you everything I know, so just let me go!”

“I don’t think so,” Alex replied. 

Blake paled. “You’re going to…to - kill me?” he asked in terror.

Alex tossed another role of duct tape at him, that she had grabbed from his own kitchen. “Wrap that around your ankles.”

He did as he was told. Alex set the gun down out of his reach and went over to him. He may have his ankles tied, but she didn’t want to underestimate his size. She leapt at the last second, slamming him into the floor and pulling his hands behind his back. She wrapped them tightly with more tape. She hurried over to grab the gun again, and kicked him hard to bring him back down to the floor. Then dragged him over to the closet. 

She dumped him inside and used more tape to bind his hands to his ankles. She needed to make sure he wouldn’t be able to get into a position enabling him to break out of the closet. She took more tape to put over his mouth. “Hailey?” he asked, turning his head away from her. “What are you going to do to Hailey?”

“This is the first time you’ve thought of your daughter?” Alex demanded, disgusted with him. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt her. This was part of the new plan – rescuing her. I’m going to rescue her from you – like I wanted to the first day we met.”

With that, she applied the tape to his mouth. Then she closed the doors and hurriedly jammed a chair under the handles. She used more of the duct tape over the crack between the closet doors. She could hear Blake banging around in the closet, but to no avail. 

It wasn’t the best solution, but he was still unlikely to escape because it would be impossible to use his full strength to break out while hog-tied in the closet. 

Alex then returned to the Hailey’s bedroom. Oblivious, Hailey was still playing with her Barbie, and Willow was sitting in the spot where Alex had released her hand. The cartoons were still playing loudly. 

“Hailey, I’m going to take you on a play-date with Willow,” Alex told her. 

“Did my Dad say it was okay?” Hailey asked suspiciously. 

“Of course he did, we arranged it a while ago,” Alex said lightly. “Did he not mention it to you?”

“No,” Hailey said. “I’d better go tell him I’m leaving.”

“Actually Hailey,” Alex said. “He’s busy with work right now, and doesn’t want to be disturbed. I told him that I was here to pick you up. Why don’t you just take your Barbie with and then we’ll go?”

Hailey considered this request, then nodded. She took the Barbie she was playing with and got up. The two girls followed Alex back down the stairs, where Alex ran her injured hand under cool water. She bandaged it up with gauze from the first-aid kit while Hailey put her shoes on. 

It had been convenient for Alex that Hailey had been willing to go with her, but it unnerved her too. It showed her just how easy it was to kidnap a child. What if it had been someone intending to cause Hailey harm who had given an excuse about a play-date? 

Alex drove away again, this time with two girls in the backseat. It was a loosely formed plan at best – but all Alex knew was that she could not leave Hailey in that house any longer, and that she needed to find her daughter. 

 

“Tara Peters?” Carolyn asked. 

“Yes?” Tara replied. “Who are you?”

“Detective Carolyn Barek, NYPD,” she said, flashing her badge. 

“Are you here about Dan?” she asked nervously. “Has something happened to him?”

“Do you mind if we take this inside?” Carolyn asked. Tara stepped back to allow her to enter. “What makes you think something happened to Agent Peters?” Carolyn asked. 

“He isn’t at the office,” she answered anxiously. “He’s not here, and I haven’t been able to reach him. He left a message saying he might be gone for a couple of days but I can’t believe he’d just disappear without telling me where he was going!”

“Could I hear this message?” Carolyn asked. 

Tara nodded and went over to the answering machine. 

_“Hi Tara, it’s Dan. I’m working on a case that’s quite important to me. I may be gone for a few days. I’m not sure when exactly I’ll be back, but I don’t want you to worry. I love you. Give the little guy a kiss for me.”_

“Well, it doesn’t sound as though he’s in danger,” Carolyn offered. 

“I know!” Tara snapped, startling the other woman. “That’s why I haven’t called anyone because I know that they’ll just say I’m overreacting. But Dan wouldn’t just leave, not now! He’s been so good about being around since little Paul was born, I can’t believe he’d just go without any warning!”

“Has he mentioned anything that might have indicated why he left so suddenly?” Carolyn asked. 

“Well, someone broke into his home office,” Tara replied. “I was at ‘Mommy and Me’ with Paul, and when I came back I saw that the door was open and there were files everywhere. I told Dan about it, and he checked but said that nothing was missing. He didn’t say that he was going to leave though!”

“Could I take a look at his office?” Carolyn asked. Tara nodded and led her over to it. Carolyn knelt down and skimmed over the files on the top. She reached out and picked one up. As she had suspected, it was Rebecca’s file. However, there were notes in it that weren’t in the original FBI file, taken by Dan Peters she suspected – and it told Carolyn where he had went. 

“Mrs. Peters?” Carolyn asked. “I think I know where your husband is. Don’t worry, I believe that he’s gone to help some friends.”

“Don’t worry!” Tara exclaimed. “That’s what everyone keeps telling me, but no one is giving me any information!”

“This case is sensitive,” Carolyn replied, “but your husband isn’t in any immediate danger. I’m sure he’ll be back soon.”

Far from making her less nervous, Tara’s eyes widened further. “Immediate danger? What is he doing?”

Carolyn suppressed a sigh. “Mrs. Peters, I really need to go now, but if I see your husband I’ll tell him to call. Don’t worry.”

Tara watched her leave, furious, and unable to force her to say what was going on. Carolyn had been rushing towards the door while speaking, and had now gotten into her vehicle and driven away.


	16. Fernandez

“I’m heading to the airport now,” Carolyn told him. 

“And where exactly are you headed?” Mike asked. 

“Ha ha,” Carolyn told him. “Nice try. You are staying in that hospital bed until the doctors say so.”

“Come on, Carolyn,” he whined. “Just tell me where you’re going!”

“Not a chance,” she replied. “You just relax.”

“You know I’m going to call you every five minutes to ask where you’re going?” Mike joked. 

“Well, your plan is doomed, because I have to turn my phone off for the flight,” Carolyn replied, smiling. 

“Fine then,” Mike said accepting defeat. “Be careful.”

“You’re not worried about me, are you?” Carolyn teased him. 

“You just take care of yourself, okay?” he said gruffly. 

“Sure, I’m not as slow as you,” she joked.

“Hey, no need to get nasty!” he scolded. “I’ve been injured you know!”

She laughed. “Well, get some rest then my poor injured man. I’ll call you when I have something to tell you.”

“Okay,” he replied. “Carolyn? You will look after yourself? You’re going up there alone, so just watch your back, okay?”

“I know, Mike,” she said gently. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Right.”

They both hung up. Neither of them were the type of people for drawn out goodbyes – nor sharing exchanges of ‘I love you’. They were of the opinion that it didn’t need to be said. 

 

“Rebecca,” the man said. “I thought I might have come up with an idea to make other police officers stop looking for you. 

Rebecca looked up curiously. “What is it?” she asked. 

“I thought you might make a telephone call your Uncle Mike.”

Rebecca frowned. “But… if I call him, won’t that make him want to come and find me?”

She was quite bright, this little girl, the man reflected. This was exactly the plan. He had another set of eyes on Mike Logan, and he had been informed that rather than coming himself, his girlfriend was heading over. Well, that simply wouldn’t do. Not only was it pathetic, in the man’s opinion, but it did not suit his plan very well. He wanted Mike Logan here, in California.

“Well Rebecca, if you tell him to stop looking for you – tell him that you’re happy and want to be left alone – he would probably tell everyone to stop looking.”

“That’s a good idea,” Rebecca said brightly. “Then I could stay with you forever, Granddad!” 

Perhaps she was not as bright as he had thought. No, she certainly wasn’t a stupid child, but she was very gullible. This suited the man fine, so long as it was only he who was convincing her of things. He had ‘let slip’ more comments about her parents, and Rebecca now seemed convinced that they were horrible people. 

Others might think that his methods were strange; why bother befriending the girl when he could have tortured the parents with images of her being murdered, or abused? Well, the man thought, he could do so much more damage, cause so much more pain, by being kind to the girl. Soon he would demonstrate just how much pain he could cause through Rebecca. 

“Okay, here’s what you need to do.” The man went over what she should say multiple times, making sure she got it right. She was forbidden under any circumstances to tell where she was or who she was with. The man handed her a phone (he had already made sure the call would be untraceable). 

Rebecca sat with the phone against her ear. The man listened on the other line, he didn’t want to put the phone on speaker in case it picked up a sound that could later be used to find them.

“Well, that was quick,” Mike joked when he answered the phone. “Did you miss me already?”

Rebecca looked at her ‘granddad’ in confusion. “What?” she asked. 

“You’re not Carolyn,” Mike said slowly, hardly daring to believe who it was on the other line. 

“No, this is Rebecca,” she told him. 

“Rebecca!” Mike exclaimed. “Where are you honey?”

“I’m not telling,” Rebecca replied. She looked to the man for his approval, which he gave in the form of a nod.

“Rebecca, is the person who took you in the room right now?”

Rebecca was about to reply affirmatively when she saw the man shake his head. “No,” she said. “Uncle Mike, I wanted to call and tell you to stop looking for me.”

“Why would you say that?” Mike asked. “Did someone tell you to say that?”

The man hoped that Rebecca would remember what they’d talked about, and sure enough, she did. “It doesn’t matter because I want you to stop looking.” She flashed the man a grin before continuing. “Uncle Mike, I’m happy here. I don’t want to go back ever. So, just tell the police to stop searching for me.”

“Rebecca-”

The man ended the call. “Did I do good, Granddad?” Rebecca asked. 

“You did wonderfully,” the man replied. 

There was no way Mike Logan was going to wait in the hospital like a good boy. He was going to head out to the airport and catch the next flight out. He would want to find Goren and Eames to tell them himself. With his extensive blood loss and high risk of infection, his life would be in danger if he left the hospital prematurely. These people were so easy to manipulate; they always behaved exactly as he expected. 

If luck is still on my side, the man mused, he’ll drop dead right as he finds her. What a sight that will be for poor Mandy. Her friend is on the way to his death, her husband is probably already dead.

The man smiled to himself as he opened his newspaper. He looked like any other grandfather, reading the paper serenely as little Rebecca played at his feet.

 

Mike threw the covers off and swung his legs over the side of the bed. The sudden movement made him dizzy; he hadn’t attempted to get up since he’d been in the hospital. He had first tried to call Carolyn, but she must have already switched her phone off. He had then tried Bobby and Alex again, but he hadn’t really been expecting an answer. 

He didn’t dare call someone from the NYPD or FBI, because he had no idea what Bobby and Alex were even up to. He didn’t want to jeopardize whatever they were doing. And if people came down here to question him, Mike would be delayed in trying to get to his friends. No, he would have to figure out where Carolyn had gone and follow her. The first step was getting out of the hospital. 

Mike was just bracing himself to stand when his door opened. A pretty young woman entered, holding a coffee cup in each hand. She was tall, with long dark hair pulled into a braid. “Howdy partner,” she said loudly. 

“Fernandez,” he said. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

“Obviously not, you look like you’re about to make a run for it,” she chided him. “Probably caffeine withdrawal,” she added waving the cups. “I’ve got you covered there, Logan.”

She walked over and set one of the cups down. 

“Not that I’m unhappy to see you, Fernandez,” Mike said, “but it isn’t a good time.”

“And after I snuck a coffee in for you,” she said in a mock hurt tone of voice, taking a sip from hers. “Come on Logan, what could you possibly be busy with? I’d have thought you’d be bored out of your skull right now.”

“Fernandez,” Mike began, about to make some excuse to get her to leave, then he paused thoughtfully. “You have the internet on your phone, right?”

“I sure do,” Fernandez replied. “But I’m telling you right now, I’m not looking up porno to entertain you!”

“Ugh, enough with the bad jokes,” Mike complained. “I hear enough of it at work.” She had only been a detective for a matter of months, and she was eager with almost everything they did. Mike had been stuck with her after his partner retired. It wasn’t that he didn’t like her, he admired her enthusiasm and she was a very able detective, but she was also very chatty and liked to make jokes on a regular basis, whether they were funny or not. 

“Okay, fine,” she said, unfazed by his annoyance. “What do you want me to look up?”

“I want you to find out if Carolyn Barek purchased a plane ticket with her credit card,” Mike said. Peters would have suspected that people were following him, and covered his tracks. But no one suspected Carolyn of anything, so Mike hoped that she hadn’t felt the need to cover her tracks. Plus, she would have had to stop somewhere to get cash out, and she was in a hurry. 

“Who’s Carolyn?” Fernandez asked. “Your girlfriend?”

“Please, Fernandez, just look it up.”

“She is your girlfriend!” Fernandez exclaimed, grinning. “You naughty boy, checking up on her!”

“Fernandez, do not make me open this wound up by forcing you to shut up,” Mike said severely. 

His partner didn’t reply, she simply grinned and did as he asked. “Yes here it is,” she replied. “A one way ticket to California. I think you should dump her, Logan. Imagine her working on her tan while you’re here in the hospital!”

“Fernandez!” he yelled, exasperated. “Would you please shut up!”

“Sorry Logan,” she said, looking abashed for the first time. “I was just trying to get you to lighten up. I’m sorry that she’s left.”

Mike rolled his eyes. “I knew she was leaving, I just…” he trailed off, annoyed. “Listen, thanks for your help, but I’d really like to be alone right now.” 

“You’re not planning on following her, are you?” she asked, her eyes sparkling with mischief again now that she knew Mike wasn’t upset about Carolyn’s travel.

“Fernandez, you are driving me crazy,” Mike snapped. “Just go.”

“Okay,” she replied. “But I hope you realize that you are not supposed to be leaving the hospital!”

“Thanks, for that bit of advice,” Mike said sulkily. He waited for a short time after she left, and then got up again. He pulled out the tubes that were still attached to his body. He made sure to turn off the heart monitor before he disconnected it from his body. Ripping the IV from his hand caused it to spurt blood down his arm, but other than pressing his other hand into it, he ignored the new wound. 

He got a terrible head rush as he got up, but he managed to stay standing. By moving slowly and carefully he made it to the door. He opened it and looked out cautiously. No one was paying attention. He started to leave the room, and had just shut the door behind him when he heard her. 

“Going somewhere, partner?” Fernandez had been lurking behind a vending machine. She was now leaning against it, smirking at him. “Honestly Logan, I don’t think this girl is worth risking your life over.”

Mike could hardly believe his bad luck. “Fernandez!” he snapped. “I didn’t know someone could be so interfering!”

Fernandez shrugged unabashedly. “Just trying to protect you, Logan. That’s what partners are for.”

“Really?” Mike asked irritably. “Because I thought they were to constantly annoy you.”

“That’s a little harsh,” Fernandez said lightly. “Come on Logan, march yourself back into that room and don’t think I won’t wait out here all day to make sure you stay there!”

Mike walked back into the room. When Fernandez followed, he turned to face her. “Close the door behind you,” he said. She did.

“Fernandez, this isn’t about chasing down my girlfriend.”

“I didn’t think so,” Fernandez interrupted. “I knew you wouldn’t be so determined to get out of here just to follow a girl! It’s about a case, isn’t it! What’s the case, Logan, is it one that we’re working on, what does California have to do with it, why didn’t Detective Barek tell you where she was going, and-”

“Fernandez!” Mike interrupted. She broke off, her eyes shining with enthusiasm. “Slow down for crying out loud, you’re giving me a headache. You remember the cases with little girls being kidnapped from parents in law enforcement?” Fernandez nodded eagerly. 

“The first one was the kidnapping of a little girl named Rebecca,” Mike continued. “She’s the daughter of two of my friends. Now they left to search for her, but we didn’t know where. But Kirk seemed to have figured it out, and now he’s hunting Goren down because he thinks Goren’s the one behind everything. I wanted to warn Goren, but since we didn’t know where he was we couldn’t. Carolyn has been working on trying to find them, and she must have done it because she’s left.”

“And she didn’t tell you where she was going so you wouldn’t make a break for it and follow her, right?” Fernandez supplied.

“Right,” Mike admitted grudgingly. “But then I got a call – from Rebecca, right before you got here.”

“Rebecca called you?” Fernandez gasped. “How? And why?”

“She said that she didn’t want to be found,” Mike said bitterly. “Either someone forced her to say it, or she’s been brainwashed, but it’s even more important that we find her now. And I still don’t know if Kirk found Bobby…”

“Then we have to find them!” Fernandez agreed eagerly.

“Oh no, you are not coming,” Mike told her. “I only told you what’s going on so that you’d keep your mouth shut!” 

“You can’t really expect me to not help!” she exclaimed. “This case is huge! Besides, you need someone to help you.”

“Oh no I don’t, I can take care of myself!”

“Really?” Fernandez asked skeptically. 

“Watch me,” Mike replied, heading for the door again.

“Hey Logan?”

“Fernandez, I’m not changing my mind.”

“I just thought I’d point out that you might want to put some clothes on before we leave,” she commented, her eyes glinting with amusement.


	17. Bring Them Down

Not long after Mike had left, a nurse went in to check on him. When she discovered him missing she rushed out of the room, but before she told anyone on her floor that they had a missing patient, she made a phone call. 

“He’s gone,” she said.

“Thank you,” the man replied. After hanging up the nurse reported her patient to be missing. The man smiled to himself. The next stage of his plan was going off without a hitch.

However, unknown to him, there was part of his plan that was off. He hadn’t taken into account Mike’s nosy, stubborn partner. Fernandez had refused to let him travel alone. Part of the man’s plan was based on Mike travelling alone, forcing himself to keep going even as his health declined. But Mike was not alone: he was accompanied by Fernandez.

 

Alex had arrived at the address Blake had given her. She approached the door, now with two little girls in tow. She hoped he wasn’t lying – but she doubted it. It was harder to make things up when one was frightened. 

By the look of the house, it seemed that no one was home. “Mrs. O’Donnell?” Hailey piped up. “What are we doing here?”

“I’m just seeing if Mr. Townsend is home, I wanted to talk to him,” Alex replied. She approached the house and rang the bell. No one came to the door. She went to look in the windows, and it seemed that no one was there. Alex glanced around, but no one was watching. She led the two girls into the backyard. 

“Mrs. O’Donnell?” Hailey asked. “I don’t think he’s home.”

“He knew I was coming,” Alex invented wildly, “I’m going to see if he left me a note on the back door.” Hailey fell silent again as Alex peered into the back windows and tried the back door. It was locked, which meant they probably weren’t home. Then again, there could still be useful information inside the house. 

She would have to break in. She wished that there was a way she could prevent Hailey from asking awkward questions, but she had to get in and she couldn’t just leave the girls alone. She was still twisting the handle absentmindedly. 

“Mrs. O’Donnell?” Hailey asked. “If you’re trying to get in, why don’t you just use the key?” Hailey walked over to the garden, lifted one of the stones sitting in it, and pulled out a key. 

“Oh right, I forgot,” Alex said. “Thank you, Hailey.” Alex reached out and took the key from the little girl. Apparently she had been there with her father before. 

Alex put the key in the lock and turned it, then pushed open the door. She pulled Willow and Hailey in after her and shut the door. Alex immediately began checking the house to make absolutely sure no one was home, her hand resting on the handle of her weapon. 

When she was sure that no one else was there, she left Hailey and Willow in a playroom while she returned to Townsend’s office to begin her search. 

 

“We’ve got it!” Thompson informed the NYPD detectives they were working with. “The signal was rerouted all over the world, but we have a location!”

“And we have a name,” Bole added. “Townsend Productions owns the website.”

“And is there a Mr. Townsend to go with the company?” Langley asked. 

Bole nodded eagerly. “Owner and CEO, Angus Townsend. He lives right in the area we’ve pinpointed.”

“I’ll get ahold of the authorities in California,” Fisher offered. Within an hour, the four primary agents/detectives had left, ready to meet with a team in California.

 

_Bobby dreamed that he was looking through a window to an interrogation room at the MCS precinct. Different suspects he’d interrogated over the years were flashing through the room, but they were going by so quickly that he couldn’t clearly identify them._

_“Come on, Bobby, you have to pick one!”_

_“Alex?” he asked. He tried to turn to look at her, but he found that he was frozen, forced to stare at the blurred suspects in the interrogation room._

_“One of them has Rebecca,” Alex told him. “You have to tell me who it is!”_

_“I don’t know,” Bobby told her desperately. “I don’t know who it is!”_

_She leaned in close to him; he knew she was close because he could feel her breath tickling his ear. “You’re useless,” she hissed in disgust. “You won’t even rescue her – I have to do it myself! And now you won’t even tell me where to look!”_

_“I don’t know where she is!” Bobby insisted. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”_

_The image in front of him faded to blackness. Now he was blind as well as paralyzed. “Alex?” he called. “Where are you?”_

_And then he was overcome with horror when he remembered. There was someone at the house with a gun; Alex was in danger. “Alex!” he screamed desperately._

_Her face swam into view above him; had he been lying down this whole time? She was panicked… “Don’t talk nonsense, Bobby, you’re going to be fine, okay? Do you hear me?”_

_It sounded familiar, but he was finding it hard to concentrate. “I hear you,” he told her. Suddenly she looked up. “Bobby!” she pointed somewhere in the distance._

_Bobby gazed through the haze and saw what had attracted her attention. “Rebecca?” he gasped._

_She was walking unsteadily towards them, but there was something wrong. He didn’t know what it was, but he knew there was something terribly wrong with her._

_“You’re too late,” she told them. She was speaking in a way that Bobby had never heard before._

_“Rebecca, come here!” Bobby insisted. He tried fruitlessly to move towards her._

_She shook her head. “You’re too late,” she repeated. The fog was thickening, she was hidden from view._

_“Wait!” Bobby cried. “Come back here! Rebecca!”_

_He suddenly realized that Alex was no longer there either. She had slipped away while he was looking at Rebecca. “Alex?”_

_“Hang on,” she whispered, but she sounded far away. He widened his eyes, but there was only blackness. And suddenly, he found that it was much harder to do what she’d asked. Though he still couldn’t see, he felt as though he was falling. There was nothing he could hang onto. Down, down, down…_

_Suddenly the darkness was replaced by a blinding light. He tried to shield his eyes…_

“Damn it!” 

“Where’d all this blood come from?”

“I don’t know – we need suction here!”

“Where’s the source; we need to find the source of the bleeding!”

“We’re losing him!”

“More suction!”

“His thoracic cavity is filling with blood!”

“If we don’t find the source he’s not going to make it.”

“I can’t see through the blood!”

“Someone page for more O negative blood!”

“He’s crashing!”

“Grab a crash cart!”

“Wait – I have to stop this bleeding first!”

“We don’t have time to waste waiting!”

“There’s no point in shocking him if he’s going to bleed to death anyway! I have to get to the source of the blood.”

Everyone in the room backed off to leave the head surgeon and those who were suctioning blood away. They glanced nervously between the surgeon and the heart monitor, hoping that he would find it. 

“Get ready to cauterize,” the surgeon muttered. “There goes his lung again!” The paramedics had already re-inflated the damaged lung in the ambulance. Another surgeon rushed forward to work on the lung. “Wait!” the head surgeon insisted. The other stopped and tapped his foot impatiently. 

_Bobby was still falling in the blinding light when he heard it. Rebecca was screaming for him – it was an echo of the day she was kidnapped. “Daddy! Mommy, Daddy HELP ME!”_

_Rebecca… Rebecca and Alex needed him. Bobby had to get to them. He didn’t know how to stop his mad descent, but he began trying desperately to find purchase on something. He thought he might have found a handhold. Though it seemed to be impossible, he had no idea how far he’d fallen, Bobby began to desperately claw his way back up. Still blinded by the intense light, he scrambled and clawed, and began the slow and painful ascent._

“Got it!” 

The rest of the surgeons were immediately back at the operating table, multiple hands reaching into the patient’s chest. “Let me have access to this lung!” one of the surgeons insisted. 

“Someone go and get that O neg.!”

“You’re almost there,” one of the scrub nurses whispered to the unconscious patient. Others scoffed at her, but she felt that talking to patients, even when they were unconscious, was important. 

_“You’re almost there.”_

_Who had said that? Bobby didn’t know, but it renewed his determination. No matter how tired he was, he would keep going._

 

Peters pulled the rental car over when they had reached the neighborhood that Goren and Eames had gone undercover in. He didn’t know their exact location, but he thought he might know where to begin looking. He had searched through records on the plane to search for new couples who had moved in around the time Goren and Eames had left. 

“I think they live a couple blocks away,” Peters told Mendel. 

His worst fears were confirmed when they arrived at the house and found it swarming with police. Peters and Mendel exchanged nervous glances, and then exited the vehicle. Peters hoped desperately that the crime scene did not contain the bodies of his friend and his friend’s wife…

“Special Agent Peters, FBI,” Peters said, holding out his identification as he ducked under the crime scene tape. 

“We didn’t call the FBI,” the uniformed officer said suspiciously. 

“Josh Mendel, NYPD,” Mendel said, following Peters. He didn’t mention that he was actually suspended at the moment.

“NYPD?” the officer asked. “What brings New York cops down here?”

Both men ignored him and rushed into the house. Peters scanned the area quickly as soon as he entered. There was a pool of blood on the kitchen floor, but no body. He breathed a sigh of relief. 

“What happened here?” Peters demanded. He repeated his name and showed his identification. 

“What brings the FBI here?” Henderson asked. Branch was also regarding the two intruders suspiciously, assuming that Mendel was Peters’ partner. 

“The suspect,” Peters replied. If Goren and Eames were still maintaining their cover, he wasn’t going to break it. “Now, tell me what happened.”

“A man armed with a revolver came in and shot the owner, right in front of his wife and child,” Henderson informed him. “He said the girl was his missing child, but we have adoption papers to prove that they are the legal parents and there was no kidnapping involved.”

“What exactly did the man say about the girl being kidnapped?” Mendel asked suspiciously. 

“He said that the home owners, Patrick and Mandy O’Donnell, used to be cops in New York, and that they’d faked a kidnapping of their own daughter before kidnapping his.”

“He’s lying of course,” Branch said, “the guy was raving like a lunatic, and besides, I’ve known Patrick and Mandy for months. They just adopted Willow recently, and there’s no way they had time to travel to New York to kidnap her because they haven’t left town.”

Both Peters and Mendel exchanged dubious glances at the name Willow. That was Kirk’s daughter’s name, after all. How had Goren and Eames ended up with Kirk’s daughter?

His partner had been right all along, Mendel thought. He was furious with himself for falling for Goren and Eames’s act. They had seemed truly distraught when Rebecca had vanished. _Well played_ , Mendel thought bitterly. _Very well played._ But of course, they would have known how to act. The only thing he couldn’t figure out was _why_ they had taken Willow. 

Peters was stunned. He couldn’t believe that Goren and Eames had found Willow and done nothing about it. They must have gotten in too deep, and lost sight of what was right. Their desperation to find their daughter after such a long time had clouded their judgment. He didn’t believe that they had taken Willow, but still he worried… how far had they gone? 

They had gotten in too deep. Peters cursed himself for not insisting that they stay in contact with him. This was why undercovers always had case agents… if this had been a legitimate operation, Goren and Eames would have been pulled. Then again, if this had been a legitimate operation, Goren and Eames wouldn’t have been on it in the first place. 

“What hospital has Patrick O’Donnell been taken to?” Peters asked. Surely, if Bobby was in the hospital, Alex would be there. Then he could find out what the hell had gone wrong. 

Branch told him. “He was wounded pretty badly though,” he warned Peters. "They weren’t sure if he’s going to make it.”

Peters swallowed his fear. No matter what Goren had done, he was certain that he didn’t deserve to die for it. He thanked Henderson and Branch, and turned to leave. 

“Where’s the suspect being held?” Mendel asked. Peters turned to eye him suspiciously. 

“He’s being held at the station until we can get him arraigned,” Henderson replied. 

“Thanks,” Mendel said. He also turned to leave. 

“What are you planning to do?” Peters hissed. 

“I’m going to go and talk to my partner,” Mendel replied angrily. 

“Mendel, what Kirk did was wrong. We have no proof that they took Willow-”

“No proof!” Mendel snarled. “They had Willow!”

“Maybe they found her, and they were figuring out what to do about it,” Peters suggested. 

“They had her for at least a couple of days,” Mendel argued. “The evidence points to them, Peters.”

“You’re blinded by the fact that your partner’s involved.”

“So are you,” Mendel countered. “How well do even know Goren?”

Peters stopped walking, and paused to think. Was it possible that he was wrong about Goren and Eames? Had he been tricked into thinking that they were just trying to help their daughter, when in reality their motives were much darker? But Peters had worked closely with Goren, surely he would have known if the man was a pedophile! Then again, he was also a profiler. He would know how to act. And Peters had never actually seen him interact with Rebecca – he had never met the child at all. Had Goren faked Rebecca’s kidnapping in order to use Peters to find others like himself? Was that the motive? But then why take Willow? And how?

No, it wasn’t them. Perhaps they were connected to Willow, but it would have been impossible for them to take the four other girls too. Besides, Goren and Eames weren’t stupid. If they were the type of people who would kidnap children, they would have known enough to not take a girl who was connected to them. Unless she had fit the man’s fantasy…

Peters shook himself. This was Goren he was thinking about! When had Peters started considering him a suspect? He knew Goren; he trusted his judgment. Then again, wouldn’t Mendel say the same about Kirk? Wouldn’t he argue that his partner was a good cop, and never would have acted the way he did without proof? How well could you ever truly know someone? Desperation could make people do things that one would never think them capable of. 

Desperation… Goren and Eames had been desperate. Perhaps they should have done something about Willow, but they wouldn’t hurt her. They were still looking for whoever was behind this. They would have had to break their cover in order to return Willow to her parents. Suddenly, Peters thought of something. Goren and Eames probably didn’t even know Kirk had a daughter. They probably had no idea who Willow truly was. The case was famous in New York, but they had left before Willow was kidnapped. How convenient that they happened to have a girl who was connected to them in New York, without them realizing… it was too convenient.

Mendel was right: the evidence did point to Goren and Eames being behind it. But, for someone who knew them and knew the case, it was apparent that they had no idea how they had been made to look guilty. It seemed like a very elaborate plot against them… Someone here knew who they were. Someone had devised a very clever plan to bring them down.


	18. Expression

Rebecca woke up screaming. She had been having a terrifying nightmare. It was a repeat of the terrible day where she had been kidnapped – only instead of a man taking her, it had been a monster. 

The man’s eyes flashed open at the child’s screams. He had very little patience with being woken in the middle of the night, but in order to maintain appearances he would have to go and comfort her. 

“Mommy!” Rebecca called. “Mommy, Daddy!”

The man stopped abruptly outside of her room. He thought he had convinced her that her parents were not to be trusted… yet she was calling for them. Perhaps waking up suddenly, she was simply crying out for them out of habit. The man burst into her room.

The light from the hallway made Rebecca squint as the door opened. “Daddy?” she asked uncertainly. He didn’t look like her Daddy…

As the man came closer, his face swam into view. “Granddad!” Rebecca called, remembering. The man wrapped his arms around her and whispered soothingly. She nestled against him. She had forgotten momentarily that she was here with her granddad now. 

“Did you have a nightmare, sweetheart?” the man asked. 

Rebecca nodded against him. “My parents were in it.” She had seen their faces as they tried to rescue her from her captor’s arms. 

“Were they scaring you?” the man asked. 

Rebecca tried to remember her nightmare more clearly. She pictured their faces… they changed into the monster’s face. She stifled another scream and nodded. Her parents were scary, bad people. She had forgotten what her nightmare had truly been, and replaced it with the man’s suggestion. 

“It’s alright Rebecca,” the man soothed. “You’re awake now.”

He seemed to have repaired any damage that might have been done. He knew that Rebecca would be in a highly suggestive state after waking from a nightmare – he had just needed to plant the right idea. Still, he was slightly worried about her calling for her parents upon waking. It was possible that she still subconsciously believed that they cared for her. She had been loved by them for four years after all… it couldn’t be undone simply. 

But when she was fully awake, Rebecca believed his lies. He didn’t need to worry about whatever she subconsciously remembered. He would never allow the opportunity for someone to convince her that he was really the liar.

 

Alex wished she had somewhere to bring Willow and Hailey. But she couldn’t trust anyone in the neighborhood – what if they were part of the group and she didn’t know it? She had considered leaving the two girls with Ted and Susan or Richard and Tammy, but what if she was wrong about them? 

She was heading towards the car with the two girls again. She knew where she had to go – a file in Townsend’s home reported that there were sub-levels in the adoption agency building where she and Bobby had went to pick up Willow. It pained her to think that Rebecca had been right there, just a few stories beneath her…

She had also found Townsend’s pass key to get her into the sub-levels. She just prayed that no one was around, and that she could get in and find the girls. It might all be over soon.

She had just closed the back door after the girls had gotten in when someone called, “Hello Mandy! What brings you here?”

Alex spun around to see Craig. She hadn’t really spoken to him since the night of the barbeque, for which she was grateful. He always eyed her in a way that made her uncomfortable, and flirted with her even when Bobby was standing right there. 

“Hello Craig,” Alex answered reluctantly. “I don’t really have time to talk right now, I need to be on my way.”

“Oh come on, Mandy,” Craig said. He was now standing right in front of her, close enough that she couldn’t make her escape by opening the front door of the car. 

“Craig, I really have to be going.”

“No time to chat with a neighbor?” he asked. He had shifted even closer to her now. She was sorely tempted to bring her knee up sharply into his groin. 

“I really need to be on my way.”

“Why don’t you come inside for a minute, Mandy?” Craig asked. “I won’t take up too much of your time, I promise.” He winked at her, and also placed one hand up on the car next to her head. Who did this guy think he was? Alex couldn’t believe he’d _winked_ at her. Was he incapable of taking a hint?

“Craig?” a woman called. 

The speed at which he pulled his arm down, stepped back, and spun around was remarkable. “Aubrey,” he replied. “I wasn’t expecting you back yet.”

“Evidently not,” Aubrey said furiously. Craig went back towards her, allowing Alex to finally escape. 

Craig looked back as the car drove away, and frowned. “Aubrey, she had two kids with her,” he said, confused. “I think one of them was Hailey Green. I didn’t recognize the other though.”

“Maybe it was Willow O’Donnell?” Aubrey asked sarcastically. “You know – her daughter? What, you’ve been so busy eyeing Mandy that you missed the fact that they adopted Willow?”

“I don’t know what would make you say that dear,” Craig said nervously. 

The fact that Craig was now distracted by Aubrey’s anger had resulted in the only person who was suspicious of Alex no longer paying attention. He might have also seen the car following them, but he had been distracted.

 

Agent Peters had arrived at the hospital. He approached the nurse’s station on the first floor (emergency). 

“Excuse me,” Peters said. “I’m looking for Patrick O’Donnell’s family. He was brought in with a GSW to the chest. His wife should be here, and possibly a little girl too.” Peters held up his identification. 

“Mr. O’Donnell is still in surgery,” the nurse informed him. “His family isn’t here yet.”

“Not here?” Peters repeated. Where on earth would Alex be besides here waiting for news on Bobby? Then again, he didn’t know her, except for the couple of times he’d met her since working with Goren. Still, she must care about what was happening to him! 

Peters thanked the nurse and left. He was going to find Alex to figure out what had gone wrong – and why she wasn’t here at the hospital. The only problem was, he had no idea where she would be. Could she have figured out something about the case?

He got back into the rental car and began aimlessly driving around. What were the chances of him just running into her? He had the vague idea that he’d see her if she was on her way to the hospital. 

He had driven a fair distance from the hospital, and was still trying to decide what to do. He pulled over, glancing absent-mindedly around. A teenage couple rounded a corner, holding hands. A man in a suit checked his watch as he climbed into his car. A woman ushered two girls into a car parked a few houses down from where Peters sat. 

Suddenly, Peters leaned forward with renewed interest. He had only seen her for a moment – but he could have sworn that the smaller girl was Willow Kirk. He didn’t recognize the other, and he didn’t recognize the woman. Her back was to him at the moment (she was facing a man who, by the looks of it, was attempting to flirt with her). Who was the woman? Could it be Alex? 

The man had turned away, returning to a woman who, judging by the most displeased look on her face, was probably his wife. The woman at the car was able to turn around in order to get into the car. 

She didn’t look like Alex. This woman had short black hair, and she was wearing glasses. The hair was wrong, and the glasses were wrong. She was thinner than the last time he’s seen her – bordering on unhealthily thin. But the expression on her face – he knew that look. It was the look Alex had worn when she insisted that they were prepared to go and look for Rebecca themselves. Peters started the engine and followed her. 

 

Carolyn had arrived in California. It was a mere half-hour drive to reach the subdivision where Goren and Eames were supposed to be. She pulled out her cell phone to call Mike. 

She frowned when it went to voicemail. She hung up to try again. He had been so eager for news that she couldn’t believe he wasn’t sitting with his phone in his hand awaiting her call. Unless he had followed her…

“No,” Carolyn said out loud. He would not have put his life in danger like that – no way. She would have to murder him if he had! If the situation hadn’t been so dire, she might have laughed at the irony of her choice of words. 

She quickly flipped her phone open again to check her voicemail. 

_Carolyn, it’s Mike. Now, don’t freak out_ – Carolyn snorted. It was never a good sign for him to start a sentence like that – _but I’ve left the hospital. I have to tell Goren and Eames – I have to help. I can’t just wait here and do nothing! Fernandez and I are about to board now. I’ll call when we land. Keep investigating – we can meet up when we get there. Stay safe, and don’t worry._

Don’t worry! She didn’t think she’d ever been more worried in her life. And what did he mean tell Goren and Eames? Tell them what?  
At least he had someone with him. It surprised her to hear that he had confided in his partner. He hadn’t told even her about Goren and Eames, but he had told Fernandez… Carolyn shook her head. She was not going to be the jealous girlfriend. She should be grateful that he had someone with him. Grateful that he was accompanied by a pretty young woman who he seemed to trust more than her... Carolyn shook herself again. She was not this pathetic. She also had work to do. They had to help find Rebecca before it was too late. 

 

“Kevin!” Mendel exclaimed. He knew his partner had been arrested, but it was still a shock to see him sitting in a holding cell like a common criminal. 

“Josh?” Kirk gasped, astonished. How had Mendel found him? 

“You are in so much shit,” Mendel said. “Jesus Christ man, the whole department’s searching for you since you shot Logan!” 

“That wasn’t supposed to happen,” Kirk muttered. “But he was being such a prick – he must have known something and wouldn’t tell me! But I don’t care about that. I need to get to Willow!”

“You ruined that chance when you shot Goren!”

“That bastard deserved to die after what he did to my baby!” Kirk argued. 

“He’s not dead yet, but-”

“Mendel was interrupted by Kirk’s shout of rage. “FUCKING ASSHOLE! I’m going to kill him! You wait until I get my hands on him, I’ll-”

“Shut the fuck up!” Mendel shouted over him. “The cops are listening!”

Kirk settled down again, and both men remained silent until no one was looking anymore. 

“I need to get to Willow,” Kirk repeated. 

“I told you, there’s no chance of that,” Mendel reminded him. “You’re under arrest – you nearly killed someone.”

“Joshua,” Kirk said seriously, “that crazy bitch still has my daughter. I wouldn’t put it past her to kill Willow for revenge. Who knows – maybe she was the one who killed Rebecca in the first place. It could have been some sort of jealous rage because her fucked up husband spent more time with his daughter than with her.”

“I am not hearing this!” Mendel spat. He paced back and forth in front of Kirk’s holding cell. 

“Josh, please, I’m begging you. That psychotic bitch has my baby. If I don’t get to her in time…” Kirk broke off, apparently unable to continue. 

“You stick with me, you hear?” Mendel snapped. Kirk nodded. “No more shootings!” Mendel insisted. Kirk nodded his agreement again. “Wait here… I’m going to find a way to bust you out of here.” 

Wait here… as if Kirk had a choice. But his primary objective was to get to Willow before something terrible happened to her.


	19. Don't Ask

“Why do you never talk?” Hailey asked Willow. She had been trying to engage the other girl in conversation for quite some time. 

Alex was not paying particular attention to the little girl in the backseat. She thought that the vehicle behind her was tailing them. 

“Mrs. O’Donnell, where are we going now?” Hailey asked. 

Alex was looking at the car behind her in the rearview mirror, and didn’t hear Hailey’s question. Hailey was starting to get suspicious that something wasn’t quite right. The woman was acting odd – Hailey wasn’t sure exactly what was going on, but she was starting to get nervous. Willow’s prolonged silence was also starting to freak her out. 

Alex pulled the car over and got out, her hand resting on the handle of her weapon. The car behind them also pulled over. Alex tensed, ready to draw her weapon quickly if it was needed. The driver’s side door opened, and a man got out. 

“Agent Peters?” Alex gasped, incredulous. “What are you doing here?”

“Finding out what on earth is going on!” Peters exclaimed. 

“I’m going to need a favor,” Alex said. 

“I’m going to need an explanation first,” Peters countered. 

Alex nodded, understanding that he would be suspicious. “First of all,” Peters said, “how on earth did you end up with Kirk’s daughter?”

“Through a corrupt adoption agency run through the group,” Alex replied. 

“Why didn’t you take her to the police, or do something?” Peters demanded.

“We couldn’t,” Alex replied. “I don’t have time to explain everything to you right now, but we didn’t have much of a choice. Besides that, we couldn’t even prove Willow was kidnapped – she wasn’t able to speak at all when she first came to us.” 

“You need to listen,” Peters said, accepting her explanation (though not pondering whether or not he agreed with her reasoning). “Mendel came down here with me and he’s looking for Kirk. They believe that you and Bobby are behind all of this.”

“Yes, I know,” Alex said wearily.

“I don’t think you do,” Peters argued. “The two of you look very suspicious – soon everyone will be convinced it was you who kidnapped all of the girls!”

“All of the girls?” Alex asked. 

“Yes, there were four more kidnapped after Willow,” Peters informed her “And you and Bobby are connected to Willow. Add that to the fact that you have her now, even I have trouble not doubting you!”

“We didn’t kidnap any children!” Alex exclaimed. “Dan, you have to believe me – we had no idea!”

“I know,” Peters said grimly. “And someone else does too. The two of you have been set up by someone who knows your true identities. Are you sure you haven’t recognized anyone here?”

Alex ran everyone she could think of through her mind. She shook her head. “No, I can’t think of anyone!”

“Well whoever it is they must have seen you,” Peters said. “Are you certain you didn’t see them?”

“I’m sure!” Alex snapped. 

They were both silent for only a moment before Peters asked the other thing that had been bothering him. “Where are you going? Why weren’t you at the hospital?”

“I’ve been looking for information because I knew there wouldn’t be much time,” Alex explained. “I found out – wait, have you been to the hospital?”

She stepped forward and took a fistful of the man’s shirt in each of her hands, her eyes wide with fear. Peters wasn’t sure she even realized what she was doing. “Is he okay?” she asked, looking as though part of her didn’t want to know the answer. 

“He was in surgery when I was there,” Peters told her. She released her hold and her body relaxed slightly with relief. 

“Then he’s alive,” she whispered. And again she had to fight the urge to jump back in the car and turn it around. She wanted almost nothing more than to drive straight to the hospital and will her husband to live. But she couldn’t go back, not yet. 

“You mentioned a favor?” Peters asked.

“Yes,” Alex said. She opened the back door of the vehicle, and indicated for the two girls to get out. They obliged, Willow slowly and Hailey nervously. 

“This is Hailey,” Alex said, indicating the older child. “And you know Willow.” The two girls were standing next to Alex now. Hailey looked up at Peters with more nervousness than before. 

“Mrs. O’Donnell?” Hailey asked, her voice high and scared. “I want to go home now.” 

“Not now, Hailey,” Alex said gently. “You and Willow are going to stay with my friend Dan for a while.”

Peters’ eyes widened. “You figured out where the girls are?” When Alex nodded, he insisted, “Then I’m going with you!”

“Someone needs to stay with the girls,” Alex argued. 

“You can, and I’ll-”

“No!” she snapped. 

“Alexandra!” he shouted, trying to think of some way to argue his point. 

Hailey looked between the two adults. “Who’s Alexandra?” she asked. The man and woman didn’t answer. Willow, however, recognized the name. That was what her Daddy had called Mandy. Slowly, Willow raised her hand to point at Alex. 

Hailey’s eyes widened. Mandy O’Donnell was this Alexandra person? What did that mean? She didn’t know, nor did she have any idea what they were arguing about, but she had had enough. She turned around and began to run in the opposite direction, intent on getting back home.

“Hailey!” Alex cried. “Hailey get out of the street!”

Peters spun around and saw the small girl racing down the side of the road. He was about to chase her when a flurry of movement caught his attention. Alex was getting back into the car. “Willow, stay with Dan!” she instructed, shutting the door. He would have cursed loudly if it wasn’t for the two children within earshot. He knew what she was doing. He couldn’t follow her if he was to catch Hailey. And he couldn’t very well let the child race down the streets. 

Peters lifted Willow off the ground and raced after the other child. _What a manipulative little_ \- Peters thoughts broke off as he grabbed Hailey around the waist and she screamed loudly. He would do better to focus his attention on trying to calm her down. 

Alex watched the scene unfold in her rear-view mirror. Whatever Peters thought of her, she wouldn’t really have left Hailey and Willow if Peters hadn’t shown signs of staying with them. “I’m sorry,” she told him. It felt like she had been sorry for too much in the past months. 

 

Alex did a double-take as the car passed her, moving in the opposite direction. She could have sworn that it was Carolyn driving. Making a split-second decision, she swung the car around in a maneuver that no passenger would have approved of and she wouldn’t dare have attempted if the girls were still in the car. 

She parked sideways in the middle of the opposite lane of traffic. Carolyn slammed on the brakes and swore loudly – what did this idiot think that they were doing? She screeched to a halt inches from the other car. Alex saw Carolyn glare in her direction, her expression quickly changing from fury to shock. Her mouth moved to form the question: “Alex?”

Now that she had gotten the other woman’s attention, Alex pulled over to the side of the road to avoid being hit by oncoming traffic. Carolyn followed suit. Both women flung their doors open at the same time, and Alex was shocked to discover herself wrapped in her friend’s embrace. 

“We’ve been so worried!” Carolyn exclaimed. Alex also wrapped her arms around her friend. It took her a moment to figure out what she was feeling. Then she realized – she was pleased to see her friend. She hadn’t felt any positive emotion for long enough that she had forgotten what it was like. 

“Come with me,” Alex said, getting back into her car. Carolyn climbed into the passenger seat, not bothering to ask where they were going. They left Carolyn’s rental car parked on the side of the road. 

“Who’s we?” Alex asked, glancing away from the road for a moment in order to get a proper look at the other woman. Carolyn was also able to get a proper look at Alex – and she was not heartened by what she saw. Alex had lost weight since Carolyn had last seen her, and she was thin enough to begin with. There was something about her that showed how she was in a constant state of barley concealed panic. 

“Mike and I,” Carolyn replied. “We didn’t know what was going on with you or even if you were alright.”

“Is he not with you?” Alex asked, frowning. She found it hard to believe that he would have let Carolyn go without him. 

“He’s not supposed to be,” Carolyn said irritably. “He’s supposed to be in the hospital, but he and Fernandez are heading this way.”

“The hospital?” Alex demanded. “Why, what happened?”

“Kirk shot him, but he’s alright,” Carolyn informed her. Then she remembered the main point of her coming down here in the first place – the unexpected arrival of her friend and her drastic change in appearance had startled her. “Oh Alex, where’s Bobby?” Carolyn demanded urgently. “We need to warn him – Kirk is searching for him because-”

“I know,” Alex said wearily. “He was already at our place.”

“He was already-”

“Bobby’s in the hospital. They’re not sure he’s going to make it.”

Carolyn didn’t answer. She was too late to warn them, and there was nothing she could say to Alex now to bring her any comfort. They sat in silence for a time before Carolyn spoke. “I am so sorry Alex.”

Alex nodded, not trusting herself to speak. 

They were silent for a short time before Carolyn spoke again. “Where are we going?” she asked. 

“I think I know where the girls are being kept,” Alex told her. 

“How did you find out?” Carolyn demanded. 

“Don’t ask,” Alex answered darkly. 

Her tone of voice made Carolyn nervous. Not that she was scared of her friend, more that she was scared _for_ her. What had she done to get this information? What was she planning on doing?

“Alex,” Carolyn asked hesitantly. “ _Did_ you have Willow?” 

“Yes,” Alex replied, not offering an explanation. 

“Where is she now?”

“I left her and Hailey with Dan Peters.”

“Agent Peters is here?” Carolyn asked. 

Alex nodded, but it was clear she was not keen to discuss the topic any further. 

Carolyn considered asking more about Willow, and also who on earth Hailey was, but decided she didn’t want to know. Not just yet anyway. Their first priority was to rescue the little girls. She would worry about the consequences to her friend’s actions later. 

 

“Fernandez, we don’t have time to worry about that!”

“Logan, you can’t just be bleeding while we search!” Fernandez countered irritably. They had been arguing since they left the plane. Mike’s wound had opened up again on the flight over. 

“It’ll just take a few minutes to patch up,” Fernandez insisted. 

“We don’t have a few minutes,” Mike argued. “I need to call Carolyn. And we need to get going!”

“You can call as soon as I get you patched up,” she said. She had gotten a first aid kit from the staff at the airport, giving the excuse of needing gauze for a friend who’d scraped themselves on a sharp bit of metal from an old suitcase. She dragged him into a family restroom where they’d have privacy and room to maneuver. 

“I’ll call her now,” Mike argued. 

“You will not!” his partner said furiously. “I know you – the second she tells you where she is you’ll be rushing off! No way, you keep that phone in your pocket mister!”

“Fernandez, we don’t have time-”

“Then do as I say and we’ll be done quickly.”

“Fernandez,” he growled irritably. 

She simply pulled out some gauze and medical tape, ignoring his continued grumbling. He finally relented and removed his shirt, if only to get out of there sooner. True to her word, she had changed the dressing in a matter of minutes. “There, was that really so difficult?” she demanded. 

Mike chose to not reply. The two detectives left the airport, Mike’s phone already pressed to his ear.


	20. Complicated

Peters had tried everything from reasoning, to bribing, to just plain begging the seven-year-old, but in the end he had simply had to keep a tight grip on her until she tired herself out and stopped fighting. 

She was now sprawled out on the sidewalk red-faced from screaming her head off and dirty from throwing herself down on the ground. Willow had remained silent throughout the entire tantrum, her face impassive. Only when Hailey had grabbed Willow did she respond – by also screaming loudly. Peters was going to have a major headache. 

He was also stranded where he was. Sure he had a vehicle, but he had no idea where he could or should take the girls. He was in a completely unfamiliar area, and Hailey was obviously not being cooperative. He would likely have to fight her to get into the car, and he was afraid she would try and run away in the time it took him to get into his own seat. 

The loud screaming from the girls had gotten the attention of the neighbors. Peters hadn’t really been thinking about the consequences of Hailey’s determination to go back home until a police cruiser arrived. 

“Sir, I’m going to ask you to put your hands in the air and step away from the girls!” one of the officers said as he exited the vehicle. 

“This isn’t what it looks like,” Peters said quickly. “My name is Special Agent Dan Peters with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I’m going to reach into my jacket to get my I.D.”

One of the uniformed officers kept his gun trained on Peters while he retrieved his identification; the other called Hailey and Willow over. Hailey bounded over immediately, and glared back at Peters mistrustfully. Willow, however, remained where she was, ignoring the officer’s summons.

“Keep your hands in the air,” the officer instructed. He retrieved Peters’ identification. “It looks legit,” the officer informed his partner. “What are you doing with these children, then Agent Peters?”

Peters wondered how on earth he was supposed to explain the situation to the officers. It was so complicated, and even he wasn’t sure he understood exactly what had happened. 

“It’s kind of hard to explain,” he replied. He realized he didn’t even know anything about Hailey, and he had no idea why she was even with Alex. 

The officer’s eyes narrowed mistrustfully. He pulled out his walkie-talkie. “Yeah, this is Officer Leach. The man who attempted the kidnap says he’s with the FBI.”

“We’ve got two agents here at the squad with two NYPD detectives,” a voice answered. “Agent Thompson and Bole. Is that agent with them?”

“I know Thompson and Bole,” Peters answered at once. 

“He says his name is Agent Peters,” the officer replied. “Ask the agents if they know him.”

There was a pause while the officer at the squad asked Thompson and Bole if they knew Peters. “Yeah, they know him. Keep him there, Leach. Agent Bole is heading to your location.”

“Affirmative,” Leach replied. 

Peters sat down on the curb to wait for Bole to arrive. He had no idea what to do from here. He could only hope that Bole would let him explain.

 

“Are you telling me that what that guy said was _true_?” Henderson fumed. He did not take kindly to these two FBI agents and two detectives from the NYPD coming to tell them how to run things in their own jurisdiction. And now one of the agents – Bole, he thought – was gone to meet up with another agent: the first agent who had shown up unannounced at his crime scene. How many unwelcome law enforcement were here on their turf? Although, technically it was now the FBI’s jurisdiction, taking the girls across state lines had made that a certainty. 

“Yes,” Langley replied, “Kirk is a detective with the NYPD, and he really does have a daughter named Willow.”

“I don’t believe this,” Branch muttered. “I can’t believe that Patrick and Mandy kidnapped Willow!” 

“Their names are Robert Goren and Alexandra Eames,” Thompson corrected. “And that is where the evidence is pointing.” He was furious with himself for not searching for Goren and Eames more thoroughly. He had suspected that they were breaking the law from the beginning, and now it turned out to be even worse than he had anticipated. 

“Bole is gone to question Agent Peters,” Thompson said. “I think it might be wise if we questioned your suspect.”

“If that’s alright with you,” Langley added hastily. He understood that the cops would be sensitive about their turf, and he wanted to make it very clear that he understood about them wanting to protect their case. 

“I suppose that would be okay,” Henderson replied. 

“Where is he?” Thompson demanded. 

“He’s in a holding cell,” Branch replied. “I left him talking to your other NYPD detective.”

“What other NYPD detective?” Fisher asked suspiciously. 

“Detective Mendel,” Branch replied. 

“That’s Kirk’s partner,” Langley stated. “He’s on suspension right now, for trying to cover for Kirk back in New York. How did he find Kirk?”

“Well, he was with Agent Peters,” Henderson replied. “They both came to talk to us at the crime scene. Said they were interested in the suspect, although they might have mentioned he wasn’t actually a raving lunatic,” he added irritably. 

“They arrived here together?” Thompson demanded. “And they already spoke to you about the O’Donnell shooting?”

“Yes,” both officers Branch and Henderson confirmed. 

“And they didn’t mention that they knew both Goren and Eames?” Thompson asked. 

“No they didn’t,” Branch replied. “Otherwise we would have known that Kirk was telling the truth about Willow, and we never would have… Oh shit.”

“What?” Langley asked. 

Henderson seemed to have just realized what Branch did. “We let Mrs. O’Donnell – I mean, Eames – leave with Willow.”

“You mean she still has the child?” Langley asked. 

“She did... but it sounds as though Agent Peters has her now,” Henderson realized. 

“What are you talking about?” Thompson demanded. 

Rather than answer, Henderson dialed a number on his cell phone. “Hey Leach, you’re on speaker,” he said when Leach answered. “I’m here with the other FBI agent and the NYPD detectives. Can you ask who the girls are?”

“Will do,” Leach replied. There was the sound of muffled voices. “The older girl says her name is Hailey Green. The little one won’t talk, but Hailey said her name is Willow.”

All five of the men exchanged glances. There was only one explanation they could think of. Agent Peters had made contact with Eames. She had kidnapped another child, and left both of them with Peters. But where was she going now?

“Thanks Leach,” Henderson said. He ended the call.

“We need to find Eames,” Thompson stated unnecessarily. “She might be able to lead us to where they kept the other girls.” 

“But why did she leave two of them with Peters?” Langley asked. “And why kidnap Hailey now?”

“Besides that, Hailey doesn’t fit the type of all the other girls,” Branch continued. “All the other girls were kidnapped from parents in law enforcement, but I know Hailey Green. Her father’s a carpenter and her mother works part-time at a downtown mall. She’s also seven years old – older than the girls kidnapped in New York.”

“I don’t know why she would have taken Hailey, but the evidence says that she did take Willow,” Langley said. “That still doesn’t explain why she left them with Peters…” 

“Maybe she’s cleaning house,” Thompson suggested. “Maybe Peters was in on it, so she left two kids she had with her with him, and now she’s heading to the other girls.”

“To do what?” Fisher asked nervously.

His question was greeted by silence. “We have Hailey and Willow,” Henderson said hopefully. “I say we need to proceed under the assumption all the girls are still alive.”

“Even Rebecca?” Fisher asked. His question was again greeted with only silence. Though no one said it, Rebecca already being dead made the most sense in the whole scenario. It might have acted as the trigger to start all the kidnappings. It might have sent the two formerly ‘normal’ cops into psychotic episodes. Perhaps they had been at it all along. Perhaps they had a master plan. But no matter how they looked at it, they couldn’t see a scenario where Rebecca would be recovered alive. 

“How are we supposed to figure out where Eames would have gone?” Langley asked, thankfully bringing the discussion back to something they could actually do. 

“Maybe Mendel knows something,” Branch suggested. “He came down here with Peters; maybe he knows something about the kidnappings. I’ll go and get him.”

Branch headed in the direction of the holding cells. 

“This still doesn’t feel right,” Fisher said. “I feel like we’re missing something.”

“Yeah, we’re missing five children and a rogue detective,” his partner responded sarcastically. 

“That’s not what I meant,” Fisher snapped. “It’s just too odd, that Goren and Eames went from clean backgrounds to kidnapping six children and possibly murdering their daughter. Or that they went from staying under the radar to suddenly having overwhelming evidence against them.”

“People slip up,” Langley said, shrugging. 

“Or they lose it,” Henderson offered. 

“Either way, it just seems odd,” Fisher said. 

“I agree that it’s odd, but it’s the best lead we have right now,” Thompson said decisively. “We can ask Goren about it once he’s able to talk. Assuming he makes it, of course,” he added unconcernedly. 

Branch re-entered the room at a brisk walk, looking very flustered. 

“Where’s Mendel?” Fisher asked. 

“Gone,” Branch replied.

“Did Kirk know where he was going?” Langley asked.

“I don’t know,” Branch replied. 

“You didn’t ask?” Henderson demanded irritably.

“I couldn’t.” Branch had rejoined the small crowd around his and Henderson’s desks. “I couldn’t ask because he’s gone too.” 

Thompson cursed loudly. Langley and Fisher exchanged wide-eyed glances. Henderson simply stared at his partner disbelievingly. This already extremely difficult case had just gotten more complicated. 

 

Alex pulled the car up at the building she and Bobby had been at only days ago to pick up Willow. 

“What are we supposed to do now?” Carolyn asked her. 

“I don’t know,” Alex replied, opening her door. 

“Wait!” Carolyn insisted, grabbing Alex’s arm. “We can’t just walk in there. We need a plan!”

“We don’t have time,” Alex replied. “We don’t have time to wait. Rebecca doesn’t have time.” She tugged her arm away from Carolyn and got out. Carolyn had no choice but to follow her. 

Alex pulled open the door and walked in with determination. Carolyn followed, hoping to look casual. Perhaps, if they were extremely lucky, no one would suspect two women looking confident in their right to be there. 

“Mandy!” a voice called. Carolyn walked right into Alex when she stopped abruptly. She turned to look at what had caught her friend’s attention. A smiling man with perfectly white, straight teeth was approaching. “What brings you here Mandy?” he asked. 

Carolyn looked between Alex and the man as realization struck her. This man was talking to Alex – she must be going by the name Mandy. This man knew her. 

“Hello Grant,” Alex said. “This is my friend Carolyn. She and her husband have been considering adoption for a while now, and after the wonderful experience we had adopting Willow through this agency” -here Alex broke off to flash a smile at the man- “I thought I would bring her here.”

Carolyn attempted to force her face into a passable expression. She wanted to look as though this story was nothing new to her. 

“Well, Mandy, that was very kind of you,” Grant offered, “but you should have called. I’m afraid I’m unavailable at the moment.”

“That’s fine, Grant,” Alex said. “I’ll just show her around, we can discuss the process. Are you free at any time today?” She had been leading Carolyn towards the elevator as she spoke. Waverly was following them, looking suspicious. Surely she had been warned that her family was in danger by now? Then why was she acting as though everything was fine? 

The elevator doors closed, leaving the man and two women alone together. Alex hit the button for the basement. 

“Mandy, what are you doing?” Waverly demanded. “There’s no reason to show Carolyn our storage area, I would think.”

“And what exactly are you storing down there, Grant?” Alex asked. Carolyn noticed that she was still smiling, and acting completely casual, as though she had no idea of how stressed Waverly was getting. 

“What do you mean by that?” Waverly asked, tugging at his shirt collar. The doors opened, and the two women exited without answering. 

“Mandy, I must insist, you can’t go down here, you-”

Alex spun around to face him. “Why is there key-card access to a storage area?” she asked innocently. 

“Mandy, there’s nothing to see here-”

“What exactly are you storing down here, that you don’t want anyone to find?” She reached into her pocket and pulled out the passkey from Townsend’s house. 

“Where did you get that?” Waverly gasped. Alex swiped the card and pushed open the door. 

“A set of stairs?” she asked, still ignoring his question. “Do you have a sub-basement, Mr. Waverly?”

“Mandy, you cannot go down there,” Waverly said firmly. “I insist that you return to the main floor at once.”

Alex spun back around to face him again. “I asked what it is you’re storing down here,” she repeated, her voice suddenly cold. 

Waverly seemed to hesitate at the loss of all warmth from her voice. “That’s not your concern,” he said finally. “Now I must insist-”

“No,” Alex said. “I must insist. I must insist that you stay quiet while we go and find the kidnapped girls you’re hiding down here.”

All the blood drained from Waverly’s face. Before he could turn and run back to the elevator doors, Carolyn had seized him and thrown him bodily against the wall. Alex rushed forward to help pin him against it while Carolyn snapped her handcuffs onto his wrists. 

“That went well,” Carolyn muttered sarcastically. It certainly could have been a lot worse, she supposed. She looked around the hallway. “Alex,” she warned. “We’ve got company.” She pointed up to where there was a security camera. 

“Let’s go,” Alex said, breaking into a brisk walk and pulling Waverly along after her. 

“You’re cops?” Waverly asked, his voice breathy with fear. “I don’t want to go to jail, I don’t want to go to jail, I don’t-”

“Shut up!” Alex growled. Waverly broke into terrified sobs, looking remarkably like an overgrown baby.

Carolyn, looking as disgusted as Alex, also grabbed Waverly to haul him forward. He seemed to be losing the ability to use his feet. 

“We have to hurry,” Carolyn insisted. “I have no idea how long we have before someone notices. Someone could be watching that camera right now.”

Alex nodded and attempted to break into a jog. She was hindered by Waverly, who was still whimpering. 

“I’ve got him,” Carolyn said. “You go.”

“Thank you,” Alex replied. She took off running down the hall. There were doors along the hallway ahead, each with a nametag on them. She skidded to a halt at the first one. The nametag on the first door read: Rebecca.


	21. A Revelation

The room was empty. The bed was made, the toys were all placed on the shelves, and judging by the way that everything was still in its place the girl who had lived in this room had left without a fight. The only sign that anyone had been in the room at all was a teddy bear under the bed. Alex had thrown herself to the floor to look underneath it, just in case, even though she knew there was no longer a child here…

It looked like the teddy bear was meant for the child to sleep with at night. However, this child seemed to have refused to cuddle with the toy. And Alex knew then for sure – Rebecca had been here. 

_It’s only one night Rebecca,” Alex said._

_The stubborn four-year-old shook her head in response._

_“Why don’t you pick a different bear, just for tonight?” Bobby suggested. “We’ll go and get Wrinkles tomorrow.”_

_“No, I need Wrinkles!” Rebecca cried._

_“Wrinkles is at Grandma’s house,” Alex reminded her. “We’ll get him tomorrow.”_

_“I want him now!” Rebecca insisted._

_“Well he’s not here,” Alex said irritably. “It’s night time now, we’re not going back to Grandma’s until tomorrow.”_

_Bobby reached over to select a bear from her shelf. It was a definite favourite, sitting in a place of honor front and center. It was wearing a police uniform – one of their daughter’s favourites because it reminded her of her parents. “Here, Becky,” he said. “Why don’t you cuddle with Officer Ted tonight?”_

_“But I need Wrinkles at night!” Rebecca wailed. “Only Wrinkles!”_

_“Officer Ted will keep you safe at night,” Alex coaxed. The tag hanging from the bear’s ear proclaimed: ‘Officer Ted E. Bear – One of New York’s finest!’_

_Rebecca looked up at her parents with her bottom lip quivering. “Please can we get Wrinkles?”_

_Bobby looked between Rebecca and Alex. “Oh no,” Alex said. “We are not driving across town at bedtime. Besides, I don’t know if Grandma is even awake anymore.”_

_Clearly knowing which parent she would have a better chance of convincing, Rebecca climbed onto Bobby’s lap. “Please, Daddy?” she begged._

_Again Bobby looked to Alex. Knowing she was fighting a losing battle now, she relented. “Fine,” she sighed. “Daddy will go and Wrinkles if you are a good girl and get into bed right now.”_

_Rebecca launched herself into her bed. “Here, why don’t you cuddle with a different toy until I come back with Wrinkles,” Bobby suggested. He picked a stuffed cat up off of her floor and tucked it in next to her._

_Rebecca shook her head. “I don’t want another toy. I want only Wrinkles.” She shoved the stuffed cat back out onto the floor._

_Bobby and Alex left the room. “You try and sleep now, Becky,” Bobby told her. “I’ll tuck Wrinkles in with you when I get back.”_

_“You know she’ll be asleep anyway by the time you get back?” Alex whispered._

_“You think so?” Bobby asked._

_Alex glanced through the crack between the door and the doorframe. Rebecca was lying sideways in her bed with her head hanging over the edge and her feet in the air. She was trying to keep herself awake until her Daddy returned with Wrinkles._

_“Right,” Alex said, smiling. “She’s your daughter.”_

_“Do you think she gets that from me?” he asked. “Liking things to be the same every night, yes; the stubbornness…” he let his sentence trail away and shrugged, grinning at her._

_“Oh go and get Wrinkles,” Alex said good-naturedly, swatting his arm lightly at the same time. “I don’t want her to be awake for longer than necessary. As for Rebecca’s stubbornness, why don’t we just agree that she got that from both of us?”_

_In response, Bobby flashed her his trademark Bobby grin: head turned down, eyes glancing up with a quick smile before he looked down again. He left to go and get Wrinkles for their daughter._

The bear under the bed had been rejected because Rebecca would only sleep with Wrinkles at night. She would rather have no toy at night than a different one. 

So Rebecca had been here – but Alex was too late. She was too late to rescue her daughter again, just like that horrible day nearly four months previously. She stood back up on shaky legs, trying to push away the mother in her and instead focus on the cop. Maybe there were still girls in the other rooms. 

She burst out of Rebecca’s room and proceeded to the next door. The nametag on this door read: Willow. There was no point in opening that one. Alex knew what had happened to Willow. 

The next door had the name Emma on it. Alex threw open the door, hardly daring to hope that there was anyone left at this point. She was shocked as a pair of wide green eyes locked with hers. The girl’s mouth was open in a silent scream of fright. 

“It’s alright,” Alex said quickly. “It’s okay honey, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m a police officer, Emma. My name is Alex.” 

“You’re a police officer? Like my Daddy?” Emma asked hopefully. 

“Yes, like your Daddy,” Alex assured her. 

“I miss Mommy and Daddy,” Emma wailed. “I want to go home!” 

“I know you do, Emma,” Alex said. “And I want to make sure you get home to your Mommy and Daddy. But right now, I need you to be really brave. Can you do that?” 

Emma nodded. “Okay, come here,” Alex said. Emma walked over to her. “I need to look for the other girls here, okay?” Alex asked. “You can wait right here in the hallway, and call me if you get scared, okay?”

“I’m not supposed to leave my room,” Emma said fearfully. “If they catch me, I’ll get in trouble!”

“It’s okay, no one is going to get you in trouble,” Alex reassured her. “If anyone sees you, they’ll blame me because I told you to leave. They won’t get angry with you.”

“Okay,” Emma whispered. She followed Alex out of the room, glancing around nervously. She let out a frightened whimper when she saw the two figures moving down the hallway. “Alex, Mr. Waverly is gonna be mad!” she turned to run back into her room. 

“No it’s okay, Emma!’ Alex assured her. “It’s okay because the lady with him is my friend Carolyn, and she’s not going to let him get you in trouble.”

Emma seemed slightly reassured with Alex’s words, and the fact that Waverly was in handcuffs. “Okay,” she said. 

Alex turned to enter the next room. She didn’t know how much time they had left, but she was guessing that they were cutting it close. The next nametag said that the girl inside was named Taylor. 

A girl with long inky curls was sitting on the bed in the room. She had no aversion to the teddy bear she had been given, and was holding it tightly in both arms. Unlike Emma, she did not seem shocked or frightened to see Alex. She looked relatively calm, and looked Alex over with curiosity rather than fear. “Who’re you?” she asked. 

“My name is Alex,” she answered. “I’m a police officer. My friend Carolyn and I are here to take you back to your parents.”

“Really?” she asked, her eyes shining with wonder. “They said that this was my home now. They said I was never going back.”

Alex took Taylor’s hand in her own. “They were wrong,” she said. Taylor climbed off of the bed and followed Alex back into the hallway. 

“Emma!” Taylor exclaimed when she reached the hallway. “We’re going home!” She then caught sight of Waverly and Carolyn. “You were wrong,” she informed Waverly in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. He didn’t reply; he was still whimpering at the idea of going to jail. 

Alex entered the next room, Giselle’s room. The girl turned sharply to look at Alex, her blonde ponytail whipping through the air from the speed at which she turned her head. “My name is Alex,” Alex repeated. “I’m a police officer, and I’m going to get you out of here.”

Unlike the other girls Giselle did not seem to be pleased by this news. Instead, she looked over Alex appraisingly. “You don’t look like a police officer,” she said. Giselle’s father had been particularly protective of his little girl after his wife died. He had taught Giselle to be less trusting than most other five-year-olds, and had also taught her safety precautions and how to analyze situations. 

“Do you have a badge?” Giselle asked. “My Dad says that police officers have badges.” He had also told her to never believe that someone was a police officer unless they showed her a badge. Her father had even taught her the general idea of what one looked like, to try and protect his daughter from being tricked.

“You’re a very smart girl,” Alex said. “I don’t have mine with me, but will my friend’s be okay?” Having heard the exchange, Carolyn handed her badge to Alex when she re-entered the hallway. Alex went back and held the badge out to Giselle. 

Giselle turned it over in her hands, examining it critically. “It looks real,” she said finally. Her father had warned her about looking at badges, but she had never been warned about whether or not to trust people claiming to be police when she had already been kidnapped. She decided that seeing the badge from one of the women was good enough, and joined the other two girls, Carolyn, and Waverly in the hall. 

There was only one door left, but Alex knew they had to hurry. Only Laura remained in her room. Alex opened it, and saw the little girl had fallen asleep on the floor. Laura was only three years old, and still napped during the afternoon. 

Alex picked the sleeping child up, deciding that being quick was more important than trying to reason with a just woken toddler. There weren’t any doors left – all of the girls were safe as soon as they got out of the building… all of them except Rebecca. 

“We have to go quickly now,” Alex told the girls. Laura remained asleep in her arms. Alex took Emma’s hand again, as she seemed the most afraid. Giselle and Taylor were more confident, they followed Carolyn and Waverly back towards the stairs. 

“Alex?” Giselle asked. “Are Willow and Becky gonna go back to their families now too?”

Alex’s heart raced at these words. “What happened to them?” she asked. “Do you know where they went?”

“No,” Taylor replied. “They were just gone.”

“Mr. Waverly said they had been adopted,” Giselle added. 

Alex’s thoughts raced at this proclamation. Someone in the group had Rebecca? But who? It wasn’t someone that she and Bobby knew, or they would have found out by now. Then she remembered what Dan had said, that someone here knew who she and Bobby were. Had they adopted Rebecca to keep her from them? Or had the excuse of Rebecca being adopted been a lie, when in reality she was – 

Alex would not even allow herself to think it. It was too painful, too impossibly cruel, to have found Willow, Emma, Taylor, Giselle, and Laura, but to have lost Rebecca forever. 

Carolyn also wanted to question Waverly, but she knew they had to first focus on getting the girls out. They had no idea if other people would soon be coming to Waverly’s aid. 

The group of seven entered the stairwell and left through the fire exit in order to avoid re-entering the lobby. The fire alarm began to ring shrilly, causing the girls to cover their ears and Laura to wake up crying. People were streaming out of the building. The group wouldn’t remain unnoticed for long. 

Alex cuddled Laura, who was completely disoriented and still crying. Carolyn slammed Waverly into the wall of the building, ignoring his gasp of pain and surprise. 

“What happened to Rebecca?” Carolyn demanded. “Where is she?”

“I won’t tell you!” Waverly squealed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Alex passed Laura to Carolyn wordlessly. She seized Waverly’s head and pressed his face against the wall. She might have smashed it into the wall, if it hadn’t been for the girls watching what she was doing with wide eyes. 

“Tell me what happened to Rebecca!” she demanded. 

“I don’t know any Rebecca,” Waverly tried to deny. Alex ground his face into the wall more in response. “Ouch, you’re hurting me!” 

“Then don’t lie to me!” Alex snarled. “Her name was there on the door! I know she was here, tell me what happened to her!”

The desperation in her voice made him pause. A police officer would be interested in finding all of the girls of course, but she sounded like she was on the verge of hysteria, desperate to find Rebecca specifically. “Why do you care?” Waverly asked slowly. 

“Why do I care?” Alex screeched. She seemed to be beyond the ability to form a coherent sentence. And all of the pieces fell into place in Waverly’s mind. 

“Oh no,” he muttered to himself. “Oh no, no, no.” She was determined to find Rebecca. And he still remembered Patrick’s request when he was adopting Willow… _“I’d prefer a brunette, if possible. Brown eyes, like my wife.”_

Willow had matched the description, but so did Rebecca. She had brown eyes like Patrick’s wife… remarkably like his wife – identical, in fact. 

“My God,” Waverly muttered faintly. “You’re Rebecca’s mother.”


	22. 'I Always Do'

The man was sitting at his desk, on his computer. Rebecca was sitting on the floor of the room, playing with some stuffed toys. The man closed his email and decided to check on the adoption agency building, more out of habit than because he was actually expecting to find anything. 

He pulled up the image from the security cameras and began searching through them, starting with the cameras on the top floor and working his way down. Everything seemed to be in order...

The man squinted at the screen, hardly daring to believe what he saw. It looked as though there was a woman leading Waverly towards the fire exit in handcuffs. Following behind were the remaining girls, and another woman, who looked like Eames – but it couldn’t be. 

The man squinted at the screen, and leaned forward. He didn’t care about the remaining girls at all; they had just been a cover anyway. And the man wasn’t too worried about Waverly; he didn’t know enough to help the police catch him. He didn’t know who the woman cop was, and he didn’t really care. But Eames could not be there. That was not part of the plan. 

The woman was carrying the youngest girl in her arms. She was at the back of the group, holding the hand of another little girl. The woman looked up, and turned directly to face the camera. The man stood up with a shout of rage. 

“Granddad?” Rebecca asked in alarm. “What’s wrong?”

The man appeared not to have heard. “What are you doing there!” he roared at the screen. “You’re supposed to be at the hospital! You’re supposed to be grieving for your dead husband! This was NOT PART OF THE PLAN!” 

Rebecca stared at the man with wide eyes. His shouting was frightening her. “Granddad?” she asked. “Whose husband died?” 

The man didn’t reply. He was breathing heavily as rage coursed through him. He couldn’t stand when things didn’t go according to plan. 

“Granddad?” Rebecca asked again. 

“Shut up!” the man shouted. 

Rebecca bit her lip anxiously as tears filled her eyes. He had never yelled at her before. 

“Come, Rebecca,” the man said suddenly. He walked briskly towards the door. “Let’s go!” he insisted as Rebecca was still frozen on the floor. “We’re leaving!” 

Rebecca hastened to get up and do what she was told. Her granddad took her hand and pulled her from the room. Rebecca wondered what had made him so angry, but she didn’t dare question him again.

 

Bobby thought he heard someone speaking. They weren’t in the same room as he was, but their voices carried through the open door to the bed where he lay. He tried to open his eyes, but he found that he didn’t have the strength to lift his remarkably heavy eyelids. He felt as though there was a transport truck parked on his chest. 

“Can you believe it?” one woman asked the other. “His family still hasn’t shown up.”

“You would think his wife would be just a little bit concerned,” the other agreed. “I mean, I know there can be marriage without love, but to not even show up to find out whether her husband survived the surgery?”

“It’s terrible,” the first lamented. “He survives being shot, he survives the surgery, he’s in critical condition in the ICU, and she still doesn’t bother showing up.”

“You don’t think that she was shot too, do you?” the other asked. 

“No, then she would be in here somewhere, we would have heard about it,” the first argued. 

“Unless she didn’t make it,” the other suggested. 

“Wouldn’t someone have informed us?”

“Damn cops, they never tell us anything. Do you remember that patient who turned out to be a convicted murderer?”

“Yes,” the voice said darkly. “We could have been killed – no one thought to warn us that he could be dangerous.”

The two voices continued to discuss cases where cops had neglected to tell them important information, but only one thing registered with Bobby before the darkness at the edges of his mind took him back to unconsciousness. Alex had not shown up. The fact that she was missing could only mean one of two things. Either she had found a lead towards finding Rebecca, or the second voice was right, and she had been killed. 

Bobby’s nurse rushed into the room. The patient’s heart rate had just increased rapidly. She began assessing him, looking for some clue as to what had caused it. 

As Bobby was unwillingly pulled back to unconsciousness, his pulse rate slowed and returned to normal. Frowning, the nurse made a mental note to keep an extra close eye on her patient tonight.

 

Bole pulled up next to the patrol car. The two officers were standing next to the vehicle. Hailey and Willow were standing with them. Agent Peters had been sitting on the curb, but he stood up when he saw Bole. 

“Officers,” Bole said, nodding at them. 

“Agent,” they returned, also nodding.

Bole walked up to Peters, and for a moment the men simply stared at each other. Finally Bole broke the silence. “What is going on here?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” Peters replied. “I can only tell you as much as I know. There are still things that I don’t know.”

Bole nodded, and indicated for Peters to explain further. 

“You and Agent Thompson weren’t wrong,” he began. There was no point in trying to cover up what he’d done now. The shit had hit the fan, and everything was going to be learned soon enough. 

“I did help Goren and Eames,” he continued. “I had copied the FBI file, and they had a copy of the police file too.” There was no reason to implicate Logan, although Peters was fairly sure they had already figured that out. “Using the two files, and a profile we developed, we were able to locate possible locations for the group. Goren and Eames came down here to work undercover.”

“They were going to try and become accepted into the group?” Bole asked. 

“Yes,” Peters replied. 

“But,” Bole spluttered, “but they couldn’t! That’s not only completely against protocol-”

“Do you really think they gave a damn about protocol?” Peters interrupted. 

Bole fell silent. Of course they didn’t care about that. They would only care about Rebecca. But that still left a lot of questions unanswered. 

“So, did they manage to infiltrate the group?”

“Yes,” Peters replied. “They were hoping that someone in the group could lead them to where Rebecca was being held.”

“But they didn’t find her?” 

“No,” Peters said. “They didn’t.”

“But how is it that they came to have Willow?” Bole asked. “Because at the station, they think that Goren and Eames kidnapped her.”

“She said that they got Willow through a corrupt adoption agency run by the group. Henderson and Branch had found adoption papers under their fake names, so the story checks out.”

“But then why did they not do anything about her?” Bole asked. He and Peters had dropped their voices so that the girls couldn’t hear them. 

“They hadn’t found Rebecca yet,” Peters replied. “But they had found Willow, so I suppose they had hoped it wouldn’t be too long before they could find their daughter. They didn’t have any evidence yet, and Willow wouldn’t speak to them.”

“I guess I can see why they would stay,” Bole said slowly. “It was still wrong though.”

“Have you ever lost a child?” Peters demanded harshly. 

“No.”

“Then I don’t think you have any say in whether or not what they did was right.”

Again, the two men were silently staring at each other. One who was young, had some experience with child abuse cases, and who had only ever considered cases from the standing of the law. The other who couldn’t stop himself from thinking: _If it were my child…_

“That still doesn’t explain two things,” Bole stated. “Where did she go now? And why did she have another kid with her?”

“I know that she had found out where the other girls were being held – but she didn’t say where,” Peters replied. “I couldn’t follow her, because she left the kids here with me. We didn’t really talk that much.”

“And Hailey?” Bole asked quietly. 

“I don’t know,” Peters replied. “She didn’t say where Hailey had come from.”

Both men turned to look at the older girl. Bole’s mind was still spinning with doubt. Maybe Eames had lied… but then why leave Hailey now? And how had she found out where the girls were being held?

The men were both still contemplating Hailey. “Oh!” Bole exclaimed suddenly. 

“What?” Peters asked. “What is it?”

“I think I know,” Bole said, walking briskly back towards his vehicle. 

“Know what?” Peters demanded, following the other agent. 

“Why Eames took Hailey.” Bole opened the door and pulled out a thick case file. He began riffling through it, and extracted what he had been looking for. He handed the photograph to Peters. 

There was no mistaking the girl in the photograph. It was Hailey, in a photo that Thompson and Bole had gotten off of the website before it had stopped printing. 

Bole trusted what Peters had told him about Eames now. She had taken that child from a pedophile.

 

“Mike?” Carolyn asked as she answered her phone. She had one arm supporting Laura who was perched on her hip, and the other holding the phone, but she was also literally standing on Waverly’s foot to prevent him from making a break for it. Not that she expected him to. After telling Alex of a secondary location (for the initial intake and photographs of the girls), he had fallen silent. His mind was still spinning with all that he had learned from this recent encounter with Alex. 

“Yeah, it’s me,” he replied. He sounded relieved to hear her voice. “Where are you?”

“I’m not exactly sure,” she replied. “I didn’t drive here.”

“You found Bobby and Alex?” Mike asked. 

“Alex found me, actually,” Carolyn replied. “But Mike, we were too late to warn them.”

“Too late?” Mike echoed hollowly. 

“Kirk had already found them, and he had already shot Bobby when I got here. He’s in the hospital.”

“Then he’s alive?” Mike said quickly. “Jesus Carolyn, you might have wanted to start with that!”

“Sorry,” Carolyn replied. “But it’s bad Mike. I’m not sure how bad, but…”

“Bad,” Mike finished. “Are you with Alex now?”

“No,” Carolyn said. “She’s gone after Rebecca; Waverly told her about another place, and I couldn’t leave because someone had to make sure he didn’t get away and also keep an eye on the girls until the police get here and-”

“Whoa, slow down,” Mike instructed. “You’re starting to sound like my partner.” Fernandez, who was leaning against the rental car waiting to find out where they needed to go, rolled her eyes at him. “Who is Waverly?” Mike asked. “And what girls?”

“Oh right, sorry,” Carolyn said. She was normally much more calm and efficient than this, but her mind was simply moving too fast for her to work as she usually did. Not to mention she was thrown off by actually knowing the people involved in this case. “Waverly was involved with the little girls who were kidnapped in New York, and those are the girls I’m referring to.”

“You have all six girls?” Mike gasped. “But wait – then why is Alex going after Rebecca?”

“Rebecca and Willow weren’t here,” Carolyn explained. “Alex said she left Willow with Agent Peters, and no one knows where Rebecca is. Alex is gone to check out this other location.”

“Fernandez and I will meet her there,” Mike said decisively. “Where is this place?”

Carolyn told him. “But please, look after yourself,” she said. 

“Don’t worry.”

“Don’t worry about you?” Carolyn asked. “I always do, Mike. Always.”


	23. Got Me Good

“I don’t believe this,” Branch muttered. “If Kirk and Mendel had just waited ten minutes longer, Kirk would know that Willow is safe.”

Thompson rubbed his temples, trying to ward off the headache he felt coming on. “This is ridiculous,” he said. “What we need to do is find all the missing law enforcement before we can-”

He was cut off by Henderson’s phone ringing. 

Thompson rubbed his temples more vigorously. “Answer that, will you?”

Henderson had already grabbed it. “Henderson.” His eyebrows furrowed, and then his mouth fell open in shock. “What? … You’re sure? … Who did you say? … How did she get them? … Eames? … But where is she now? … Yes, someone will be there soon. Thanks.” 

The other agents/detectives were all staring at Henderson, waiting for him to explain. “That was a patrol car,” Henderson began. “They said that they were responding to a call reporting that four of the missing girls from New York had been found, and they were currently with a detective Carolyn Barek. She had a suspect in custody and was waiting there with Emma, Taylor, Giselle, and Laura!”

“What?” Langley, Fisher, and Bole demanded in unison. Thompson rubbed his temples more vigorously than ever. 

“We’re going to need to…” Langley’s sentence trailed off. The others turned to look in the direction he was facing.   
Peters, Bole, Officer Leach, his partner, Hailey, and Willow were walking towards the rest of the team. 

The two officers led Hailey and Willow to the child-friendly interview room where they could wait. Peters and Bole approached the group. 

“Well, Peters?” Thompson asked. 

“He’s not crooked,” Bole told his partner. “He met up with Eames, and she left the two girls with him because she was on the way to find the other girls.”

“That’s what they said on the phone too,” Henderson said. “They told me that Carolyn Barek was there with the girls now, but Eames had been the one to lead her to the place. She said Eames was gone to another location that the suspect told her about.”

“Then why didn’t she tell one of us?” Branch asked. 

“Who would have believed her?” Fisher asked. He seemed to have a knack for asking questions that no one wanted to answer. 

“She would have had to waste time explaining,” Langley added. 

“But what about-”

“Hailey?” Bole interrupted his partner. “Here.” He passed the photograph to him. 

“I see,” Thomson said. “She still has a lot of explaining to do.”

“We need to start tracking leads,” Peters said. “Where was the location the suspect mentioned?”

Henderson read the address he had written down. 

“Right, two people should head over there-” Thompson began. 

“Excuse me,” Henderson said, “But this is our jurisdiction, so if someone is giving orders-"

“This is the FBI’s jurisdiction now,” Thompson countered angrily. 

“No one here is under your command,” Langley snapped. 

“Can we please just get a move on; we’re wasting time arguing!” Bole begged. 

“We can’t just all go off in our own direction, that’ll waste time too,” Peters said. “We need to figure out what we’re going to do, and if someone takes charge it will be faster.”

“You can’t possibly be suggesting yourself,” Branch said. “You were a suspect just before, and now you want to take charge?”

The detectives and agents all seemed to begin talking at once, arguing with each other. All except for Fisher and Bole, who were glancing around hopelessly at the other five. 

“ENOUGH!” Fisher roared suddenly, startling everyone. “That’s enough,” he repeated, quieter. “I’m disgusted with everyone’s behavior. We all want the same thing here – all the girls to return home safely, and to catch the people behind this. When it comes down to it, we’re all the same here. We all took an oath to protect and serve. Who cares about jurisdiction? Forget jurisdiction, forget seniority, forget pride, forget what state we’re from or what agency we work for! We need to work together here – and if having someone give instructions makes things move faster I don’t give a damn which one of you does that!”

Finished, Fisher glared at the rest of the men. They all looked rather embarrassed and significantly abashed. 

“Who knows the case the best?” Branch asked hesitantly. 

“Bole,” Thompson replied. “He and I worked it the longest and he’s already spoken with Agent Peters.”

“Well,” Fisher said, addressing Bole, “you have the most information; you have the best idea what to do.”

Bole glanced at the rest of the group, but everyone was looking at him, waiting for instructions. He looked to his partner last. Thompson was the senior agent after all.

“Who do you want where?” Thompson said, his way of telling his partner that he was ready to follow his lead. 

“I think it would be best if we mix everyone up,” he said. “It’ll help us to forget about arguing and just focus on the case. It’ll be easier to share information that way too. The people who know the New York case working with people who know the California case.”

He looked at the group, half-expecting them to argue, but they were all nodding and waiting for his next instruction. 

“Langley and Branch go meet up with Carolyn Barek. Ask her what she knows, question the suspect, make sure the girls get back here safely.”

Langley and Branch nodded, ready to put all animosity behind them.

“Henderson and Fisher, head to the secondary location where Eames is supposed to be right now. Process the scene – there might be evidence there. Take Eames into custody, and one of you figure out what she knows.”

Peters narrowed his eyes, and looked like he might argue. Seeing this, Bole turned to him and said, “Peters, I know you don’t believe she’s involved with the kidnappings, and I’m inclined to agree with you, but we have to be certain. Besides that, if what you say is true and there is someone after her and her family, she’ll be safer in custody than off on her own.”

Peters nodded, accepting the sense in Bole’s words. 

“And Fisher?” Bole asked. “Once you get the scene processed, take her to the hospital. I’m sure she’s anxious to find out how her husband is doing.”

Fisher nodded, agreeing with him. 

“Peters, I want you to go to the Green residence,” Bole said. “Arrest Green and see if you can get some information from him.”

“Thompson,” Bole addressed his partner last, “I want you to try and talk to Hailey and Willow, see what information you can get from them.”

At his partner’s words, Thompson felt nervous for the first time. He preferred catching child abusers through computers – talking to abused children was not his strong suit. But someone needed to question them, and all members of the child cyber-abuse team had to take courses on how to speak to child victims, should they need to for a case. Thompson also nodded his agreement. 

“As for me,” Bole said, “My strength is in computers.” He blushed slightly at his words. Still rather young, he had been in the computer division of the FBI ever since he was made an agent. He was sorely lacking in field experience, but was brilliant with a computer. “I’ll search for whoever is behind this online.”

Their tasks assigned, the group of seven dispersed. 

 

Alex crept into the building with her gun drawn and her senses on high alert. The part of her that was a cop reminded her that she shouldn’t enter the building without backup. The part of her that was a mother drowned this thought out ferociously. 

Alex had left her phone in the car, missing Carolyn’s call to tell her Mike and Fernandez were on their way by less than a minute. 

She moved in quickly, swinging around to look in all directions. She was in some sort of abandoned warehouse. She didn’t see anyone, but there had been a car parked outside. Someone was here. She prayed that it was someone who could lead her to Rebecca. 

Alex pushed open a door and stepped into a large room. Scanning it quickly, she saw no signs of life. Then she realized that the wall to her left was not a wall, but a ledge. The ledge was probably meant to survey the room, but the guardrail had been removed at some point. She looked up to see if someone was up there… and her heart stopped beating. 

There was a child standing on the ledge. Her back was to the edge, and she was looking in the other direction as though she was searching for someone. And even though this girl was slightly taller and thinner, even though her hair was red and curly, even though it had been months since Alex had seen her – she knew. 

“Rebecca!” Alex cried. Throwing all reason aside, she raced towards the ledge. 

The girl swung around. In addition to the other changes she was wearing glasses… and an expression of utmost terror. 

“It’s okay, Becky, it’s okay,” Alex gasped between the sobs of relief that kept trying to escape. She would scale that ten-foot wall if she had to. She needed to get to her daughter. 

As Alex approached the ledge, Rebecca stepped back, her eyes still wide. 

“Rebecca?” Alex asked uncertainly. “Rebecca, it’s Mommy.” Then she thought she might know the problem. Rebecca’s glasses reminded her of her own – she had become so used to them that she had forgotten. Rebecca might not have recognized her. 

Alex swiped at her glasses, sending them flying to the ground, where they smashed. “Sweetheart, it’s Mommy,” she repeated. 

Rebecca remained unmoving. “Mommy?” she asked. 

“Yes, Becky,” Alex assured her. There was no way for her to get up to the ledge. The wall was smooth, no way for her to climb. Rebecca would have to come to her. 

Running towards the edge, Alex held out her arms. “Rebecca, sweetheart, you’ll have to jump.” 

It was a game Bobby and Alex had played with Rebecca since she was little. She would jump off of furniture, playground structures, park benches, or any number of objects into the arms of one of her parents. 

“Jump, Rebecca,” Alex repeated. “You can do it, Becky!”

For a moment, it was as though no time had passed between the days of jumping off the back of the couch into her mother’s arms. For a moment, Rebecca looked as though she was going to step towards the edge, towards her mother. Then her expression hardened. 

Rebecca backed away further. Her granddad had warned her that if she ever saw her mother again, Alex would try and trick her. 

“Rebecca, what are you doing?” Alex yelled desperately. She charged forward and attempted to climb up the sheer wall anyway, not wanting to lose sight of her daughter. 

Seeing Alex charge towards the wall, Rebecca screamed in terror. “GRANDDAD!” 

“Rebecca?” Alex asked, still trying in vain to find a handhold. She had no idea who her daughter was crying for, all that she knew was that Rebecca had rejected her. She had no idea what had happened, but it felt as though all her insides had been turned to ice. 

There were footsteps coming towards where Rebecca cowered on the ledge. Desperate, Alex began to plead with the four-year-old. “Rebecca, I don’t know what you’ve been told, but I would never hurt you! I love you! I love you Becky! Please, please jump!”

“You love me?” Rebecca asked, uncertain. Her mother seemed so sincere…

Before she could decide, the man had swept into the room. “It’s alright,” he soothed. “Granddad is here, Rebecca.”

Years of training had Alex’s gun out and pointed at the man. He looked familiar, but she couldn’t quite place him. She was distracted as he moved towards Rebecca. “Stay away from her!” Alex screamed. 

The man did stop, and turned to face her. Suddenly, she knew who he was. “Leave my baby alone, Jonas Slaughter!”

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. He hadn’t expected her to remember his name. But he recovered quickly. “Or what?” he demanded. “Or you’ll shoot me?”

He turned back towards the four-year-old. “You see, Rebecca? Didn’t I tell you what she was like? You see how she’s as ready to kill me as she was my son-”

“Shut up!” Alex told him. So that was what was wrong. He had been poisoning Rebecca against her. 

“No, Mommy, don’t kill my granddad!” Rebecca screeched. 

Left with no choice, Alex knelt down to place her gun on the ground. As far as she could tell, Jonas Slaughter had no weapon. But he didn’t need one. He had her daughter.

“Rebecca,” Alex said, “I shot his son because he was going to kill someone else-"

“She’s lying!” Slaughter roared. “My boy was protecting his family!”

“Rebecca, he’s the one who’s been lying to you-”

“No, Rebecca!” Slaughter interrupted. “She’s the liar, I proved it to you. I’ve never lied to you; I’ve taken care of you!”

Rebecca looked between them with wide, scared eyes. She didn’t know what to believe. 

“He is lying!” Alex repeated. “Rebecca, come here baby, I’ll explain everything, but we have to leave. I love you-”

“Love!” Slaughter shouted. “She doesn’t love you Rebecca! She replaced you! Didn’t I show you!” Slaughter shouted over Alex.

“You didn’t love me!” Rebecca told Alex, enraged and hurt beyond words by her parents turning their backs on her. “You lied! You found another little girl and just left me all alone! You killed Granddad’s son; I heard you say it! You’re a bad Mommy!”

The expression on Alex’s face at these last words was worth all of the effort Slaughter had put in. Hadn’t he known, right from the beginning, the best way to take his revenge? He almost missed his chance when she found the location sooner than he’d expected, but he had made it in time. The blow dealt, he scooped the child up and retreated. 

Alex’s only hope was to cut him off before he made it out of the building. She raced back towards the door, but it slammed shut even as she turned. How had she missed the fact that it was mechanical? She tried twisting the handle, but nothing happened. She threw her whole body against the door, but it still refused to budge. 

She was trapped in the warehouse, while Slaughter took Rebecca further from her. She had seen her daughter with her own eyes, only to lose her again. And she knew that this was the moment he had been waiting for since he first took Rebecca. 

She remembered Bobby’s words, many years ago, when Nicole Wallace had murdered Dan Croyden. _“She got me. She got me good.”_

But she also remembered her own response, and it was this that she repeated to herself as she searched the room for another exit. _“Then let’s get her back.”_

Only the words had a different meaning. She pictured Rebecca in her mind’s eye as she muttered out loud, “…get her back…”


	24. More Confused Than Ever

Carolyn sat with Laura on her lap, and the other girls crowded around her. She had undone one of Waverly’s handcuffs to snap it instead around a bike rack. 

“Carolyn?” Emma asked. 

“Yes, Emma?” she asked. 

“Are you going to find big Emma too?”

“Who’s big Emma?” Carolyn asked, frowning. She didn’t remember hearing about another kidnapping. 

“Well, I’m little Emma and she’s big Emma,” the little girl said, as if that clarified everything. 

“Is she big like me?” Carolyn asked, wondering if there was a woman involved with these kidnappings. 

“Smaller than you, but bigger than us.” It was Taylor who replied. 

“Do you know if big Emma is a grown up, or a kid?” Carolyn asked. 

“She’s a big kid,” Taylor replied. 

“She said she’s lived around here for a long time,” Giselle added. 

“Where did big Emma go?” Carolyn asked. 

“She said her Dad was getting her,” Taylor replied. 

“She was adopted too?” Carolyn asked. 

“Nope,” Giselle said. “Her real Dad was coming to get her.”

“Do you know her real Dad’s name?” Carolyn asked. 

“No, he never visited us,” Taylor replied. “He only ever visited Willow and Becky.”

“He visited Willow and Becky,” Carolyn repeated. 

“I think Willow was scared of him,” Giselle said. “But after he visited Becky, we didn’t talk to her anymore.”

“Do you know why Willow was scared of him?”

“I dunno, she wouldn’t talk about it,” Emma answered for them. 

“But he was a bad man,” Giselle added darkly. 

“Why do you say that?”

“He told big Emma that he was taking her with him so they could be a family again. But I heard him say to someone else that he was taking her because she might be recognized. She could tie him to a hit. He must be a mean guy, to have hit someone.”

“What does Emma’s dad look like?” Carolyn asked, grateful that Giselle didn’t realize there was an alternate interpretation for the word ‘hit’. 

“He’s old,” Taylor said. 

“Old like me?” Carolyn asked. 

“Older,” Emma replied. “Old like my grandpa.”

“He has white hair, cut short but not bristly like my Daddy,” Giselle said. “He has blue eyes, and he’s almost as big as Mr. Waverly. He’s old, but he doesn’t walk all slow and hunched, like my granny. He always dresses in nice pants and a shirt. I looked at him close so I could tell my Daddy,” Giselle said in response to Carolyn’s surprise to the detail she’d noticed. “My Daddy said to look close so that if I meet a bad person I can tell him what they look like and he can find them.”

“That’s good Giselle,” Carolyn said. “That’s very good.”

“Can we go home now?” Laura asked, speaking for the first time. “I wanna go home now!” 

“You’ll be going home soon, Laura,” Carolyn assured her. 

“Now!” Laura sobbed. “I want Mommy! I want Daddy!”

“I know baby,” Carolyn whispered, cuddling the little girl closer. Emma pressed herself closer to the woman too, and soon all four girls were vying for a bit of their rescuer: the only source of comfort they’d had in months. 

Carolyn’s mind was still spinning with this new information, but she couldn’t do anything about it yet anyway. She instead focussed her attention on trying to comfort her small charges.

 

“Hailey, do you think you could tell me what happened this afternoon?” Thompson asked. 

Hailey, who was colouring a picture, shrugged. 

“What happened when the lady got to your house?” Thompson asked. 

“Mrs. O’Donnell said that she was gonna take me and Willow for a play-date.”

“What happened next?”

“She turned on the TV and told us to stay in my room,” Hailey replied. “Then she went to tell my Dad that she was there to get me. Then we left.”

“Where was your Mom?”

“She’s gone to see Grandma in Florida.”

“Did you hear Mrs. O’Donnell tell your Dad you were leaving?”

“No, the TV was loud.”

“So what happened when you left?” Thompson asked lightly, also picking up a crayon. 

“We went to Mr. Townsend’s house.”

“Who’s Mr. Townsend?” Thompson asked. 

“He’s my Dad’s friend,” Hailey replied. “I visited him with Dad before. That’s how I knew where the key was to give to Mrs. O’Donnell, so that she could get into the house.”

“Do you know why Mrs. O’Donnell wanted in the house?” Thompson asked. 

“She said she was supposed to visit him, but she was looking for something in the house.”

“Thank you, Hailey,” Thompson said. So this Angus Townsend was definitely involved – it was not an employee who had used the company to run the website. 

Hailey set her crayon down. “Am I going to go home now?”

“Not quite yet Hailey,” Thompson said. “We’re waiting for your Mom to come and get you.” There was no way she was going home with her father after what they suspected him of. 

Hailey smiled widely. “Good.”

“Did you miss your Mom while she was away?”

“Uh-huh. I’m gonna make this picture for Mommy when she gets here.” 

“Good idea, Hailey,” Thompson said. “Your Mom will probably like that. I have to go now, but you can let Officer Leach know if you need anything, okay?” He indicated Leach, who was sitting in the corner of the room. 

“Okay,” Hailey agreed. 

Thompson left. First he would inform Bole that their assumptions about Townsend were correct, and then he would talk to Willow. 

 

“Granddad?” Rebecca asked hesitantly. 

“What?” he demanded. 

Rebecca paused, unsure of why he was suddenly short with her, when he had been so nice right before. “Maybe… maybe we should go back.”

“Go back?” he echoed. 

“Maybe Mommy was telling the truth,” Rebecca suggested. “Maybe she really did love me. She really looked like she meaned it.”

“Meant it,” Slaughter corrected. “Meant it, not meaned it.” The child was really getting on his nerves. “And no, she didn’t mean it. Haven’t I told you already?”

“Yes, but-”

“I don’t want to hear anything more about it!”

“But, Granddad-”

“Shut up!” he roared. 

“Daddy never yelled at me,” she muttered mutinously. 

“WHAT DID YOU SAY?”

“Nothing,” she whispered. Daddy wasn’t here. Daddy was with his new little girl, Rebecca reminded herself. She was granddad’s girl now. 

Slaughter directed Rebecca into her room and shut the door. Peace and quiet at last. He went back to the small office he kept in the house, pondering his next move. 

Meanwhile, Rebecca had sat down on the floor of her room. She glanced around at the toys, but she didn’t feel like playing. She kept thinking of the horrified expression on her mother’s face. She flopped back onto the floor, thinking about her old home for the first time since moving into the new house. She thought of her aunts, uncles, and cousins. She thought of her grandmother. She wondered if her friends at daycare missed her. 

She looked up at the sound of the door opening again, thinking it might be her granddad coming in to play with her. “Who are you?” she asked.

A girl of about thirteen stood in the doorway. “I’m Emma,” she replied. She entered the room and closed the door. She wandered over to where Rebecca sat. 

“You’re Rebecca?” Emma asked, sitting down next to her.

“Uh-huh,” Rebecca replied. 

“My Dad said you’d be coming to live here too.”

“Who’s your Dad?” Rebecca asked. 

“Well, he’s the one who brought you here, of course,” Emma replied. 

“Granddad is your Dad?”

Emma nodded, assuming this was what Slaughter had said for the little girl to call him. 

“But… he said he had a grandson. But you look too young to have a son!”

“He’s not my son,” Emma corrected. “He was my big brother Chance’s son. I think he’s the only one Dad ever really cared about.”

“Granddad cares about me,” Rebecca said. 

“I’m sure that’s what he told you,” Emma said. “That’s what he told me too.”

“Granddad cares about me,” Rebecca insisted. “He does. He rescued me.”

“Rescued you?” Emma asked. 

“From Mr. Waverly and those other men!” Rebecca told her.

Emma laughed. “Rebecca, they work for him!”

“No,” Rebecca snapped. “He said they would get him in trouble if he took me away, but he made them let me go – why are you laughing?”

“Because,” Emma said, still chuckling, “the idea of Mr. Waverly or any of the others telling him what to do-” she broke off to snort loudly, “- it’s ridiculous. Grant would never go against Dad.”

“You’re lying,” Rebecca said. 

“I’m not,” Emma argued. “I’ve lived at that place since I was your age – Dad left me there. He said it was what was best for me. He left me there after my mother died.”

“Your mother died?” Rebecca asked. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Emma replied. “It was a long time ago. Did your parents die too? Is that why you ended up at that place?”

“No,” Rebecca said. “My parents didn’t die. They just stopped loving me.”

“How do you know?”

“Granddad said they did – and he proved it. They got a new little girl and stopped looking for me after the man took me away.” 

“How did he prove it?” Emma asked. 

Rebecca got up and opened a drawer near her bed. She pulled out the photograph he had given her, of her parents with another girl in the backseat. 

Emma took the photograph and pushed the ripped part together in order to see the girl’s face. “That’s Willow,” she said. 

“The girl’s name is Willow?” Rebecca asked. It had been part of Slaughter’s plan, to keep the girls apart. Rebecca could not know that Willow had lived in the same place she had. If she did, she might think of the other girl as a friend rather than a rival.

“Yes,” Emma replied. “She lived at that place too.”

“Nun-uh,” Rebecca corrected. “I would have seen her. I met other girls a few times, but never any Willow.”

“Well, she did live there,” Emma said. “Her room was right next to yours. I know, because there were names on the doors. She was probably taken away from her parents too.”

Something clicked into place in Rebecca’s mind at that point. If Willow had been kidnapped, her parents might not have been replacing her at all. They might have been rescuing Willow. They were police officers after all. 

“But then, why didn’t they rescue me too?” Rebecca asked out loud. 

Emma didn’t have an answer, but she was uncomfortable with the tears that were cascading down the other girl’s cheeks. Years of having only contact with the men left her unsure of what to do in this situation, so she simply left in order to make the discomfort go. Rebecca sat alone in her room, more confused than ever.


	25. Going To Be Okay

“Willow?” Thompson asked. The small girl was sitting on the floor with some toys in front of her. She did not react to Thompson entering the room. 

“Willow?” Thompson asked again, gently. He sat down across from her and waited. Slowly, Willow looked up to meet his eyes. 

“My name is Jeffery,” Thompson told her. “Would it be all right if I talked to you?”

Willow lifted her shoulders in a slight shrug before looking back to the toys. She picked up a little doll in one hand, and a GI Joe with the other. 

Thompson remained silent, watching her. He didn’t want to start questioning her right away; it would probably be better to let her get used to his presence first. 

Willow moved the GI Joe’s arms forward. She pushed him towards the doll, and mimicked it being carried away by the other toy. Holding the two toys in one hand, she crawled over to the wall and set them down. She pressed the doll’s hands against the wall, and wiggled it, as though the doll was trying to move but remained bound to the wall. 

“Is the girl stuck to the wall?” Thompson asked. Willow nodded. “Why is she stuck?”

Willow held up her arm, with her other hand wrapped around her wrist. She shook her arm violently, but refused to release her grip on her wrist. 

“And who is this girl?” Thompson asked, indicating the doll. The little girl didn’t reply. “Is her name Willow?” Thompson asked. He received a nod in reply. 

“What about this guy?” Thompson asked, indicating the GI Joe. “What’s he doing?”

Willow held up her thumb and pinkie finger, the other fingers pulled down. She put her hand next to the GI Joe’s head. 

“He used the phone?” Thompson asked. Willow nodded. “Then what happened?”

Willow crawled over to the toy box and began digging through it. Thompson repressed a frustrated sigh. He was sure that Willow was re-enacting her own kidnapping through the toys, but she hadn’t yet told him anything he didn’t already know. He sat watching Willow dig through the toy box, wondering how to coax her into continuing to tell him what happened. 

However, it turned out that he didn’t need to. Willow crawled back over with a Ken doll. She picked the GI Joe up and wrapped the Ken doll’s arms around its neck. She pushed the arms as tight as they would go, and held it for a moment. Then she dropped the GI Joe and flipped him over so that he was face-down. 

Thompson swallowed his horror. There was no doubt in his mind as to what Willow was telling him she had seen. She had made the toys re-enact the whole scene with a blank expression on her face. 

She moved the Ken doll over to where the doll remained against the wall. She mimed the doll’s hands being freed by the Ken doll. Then she brought the doll’s hands to her eyes, and began moving them from the eyes down the cheeks. 

“Is she crying?” Thompson asked. Willow nodded. “Why is she crying?”

Willow dropped the doll to cover her own eyes with her hands. “Is she scared?” Thompson asked, getting angrier by the second, but forcing himself to remain calm. Willow confirmed his guess by nodding. 

She then reached over and grabbed a wicker basket. Turning it upside down, she dumped its contents onto the floor and set it down by the dolls. She used the Ken to force the baby doll into the basket. Then she placed the Ken doll inside too, waving its arm at the baby doll.

At first Thompson thought that Willow was saying that the man had hit her… but the Ken doll’s hand never made contact with the baby doll. Then he thought he understood. The man was threatening her. 

“What is the man saying?” Thompson coaxed. “What is he telling the girl she has to do?”

Willow dropped the dolls again to place a finger over her lips. 

“She has to keep a secret?” Thompson guessed. 

Willow shook her head, and clamped both of her hands over her mouth. 

Now he understood. “She’s not allowed to talk?”

Willow nodded. She dropped her hands and stared into the basket at the dolls, but made no move to pick them up again. She had told Thompson everything she was willing to. 

“Willow,” Thompson said, choosing his words carefully. “The girl doesn’t have to stay quiet anymore.” He reached into the basket and picked the doll up. “She’s not trapped anymore; she’s safe now. She’s safe because Jeffery won’t let that man go near her anymore.” He set the doll down next to a teddy bear, and reached for the Ken doll. “If the man tries to come near her, Jeffery and his friends will protect her.” 

Thompson moved the Ken doll towards them, and moved the teddy bear in front of the baby doll. He then reached for two more teddy bears which he used to bring down the Ken doll. “The man will be put in jail and he won’t be allowed to scare Willow anymore.” Thompson dropped the Ken doll into the wicker basket. 

Willow had watched the toys carefully. She was now shaking her head, clearly still scared. 

“You don’t have to be scared, Willow,” Thompson assured her. “The man won’t hurt you. I won’t let him.”

She looked as though she was teetering on the edge of speaking, but something was still making her hold back. 

“It’s okay, Willow,” Thompson repeated. 

“You can’t tell him I told!” Willow croaked, her voice breaking whether from lack of use or from emotion Thompson couldn’t tell. 

“Willow-”

“He said he’d kill my Mommy and Daddy if I talkeded! He said he’d kill them like the other man! I wasn’t gonna tell anything about him, I wasn’t! I just talkeded to Mrs. O’Donnell a little. I didn’t think he’d know, but he must’ve finded out, ‘cause when my Daddy came to the house… the man killed Mommy and it’s all my fault!” Willow sobbed. 

Thompson was utterly confused as to how Willow had gotten from her Daddy being at the house to her mother being dead. Had Kirk told her that? He severely doubted it. 

“Willow, your Mommy isn’t dead,” Thompson assured her. Carol Kirk was very much alive, living on Staten Island with her sister. Thompson had no idea why Willow thought she was dead. 

“But… b-but I thoughted she must be,” Willow sobbed. 

“Why would you think that?” Thompson asked. “Did someone tell you that?”

“No, but Daddy, I heard him say once that he’d go crazy if Mommy died… and, and he was being like he was gone crazy ‘cause he shot Mr. O’Donnell and Mrs. O’Donnell even said he was crazy. So I was thinking, Daddy went crazy ‘cause Mommy was dead and Mommy was dead because the man killed her because he finded out I talked to Mrs. O’Donnell. And now he’s gonna kill my Daddy ‘cause I talkeded to you!”

“No Willow, that’s not going to happen,” Thompson said, his heart breaking for the sobbing girl in front of him. “The man didn’t kill your Mommy; your Mommy is coming here to get you! You didn’t do anything wrong, sweetheart.” 

“Really?” Willow asked, hardly daring to believe him. 

“Yes, Willow,” Thompson assured her. 

“But then... why did Daddy go crazy?”

Thompson didn’t know what to say to that. How could he possibly explain, especially to a four-year-old who had already been through so much? Instead he simply repeated, “It’s going to be okay, Willow. Everything is going to be okay.”

 

“Are you sure you’re alright, Logan?” Fernandez asked. “You don’t look too good.”

Mike shifted in his seat, trying not to wince at the pain it caused. “I’m fine,” he told his partner. 

“I don’t believe you,” she said, glancing over at him anxiously. 

“Would you just concentrate on the road!” Mike snapped. “I’ll worry about myself later.”

“Sure you will,” she muttered sarcastically.

“Look, my concern right now is for Goren, Eames, and especially for Rebecca.”

“You’re not going to be of much use to any of them if you kill yourself chasing them,” Fernandez countered. 

“Fernandez…”

“Just drink some water, would you?” she asked. 

“Drink some water?” Mike echoed. 

“Keep your fluids up,” she informed him. “Water, Logan. In my bag.” She indicated the carry-on that she had thrown carelessly into the backseat. 

Mike turned to look at it. With a small sigh, he gritted his teeth in preparation for the burning pain as he reached into the backseat to grab her bag. 

He pulled the water bottle out, white as a sheet, and took a sip. “Happy?” he demanded once he could breathe properly again. 

“Not particularly,” she replied. “I’d be happier if you were checked into a hospital – I know, I know,” she said, anticipating his reaction. “I get that your friends need you.”

They were silent for a full five minutes, which Mike reflected was probably the longest Fernandez had ever gone without speaking, when she turned the wheel violently. “That’s it,” she stated unnecessarily. 

Mike unglued himself from the window. “It looks like an abandoned warehouse. And look! There’s a car here.”

“Eames?” Fernandez asked. 

“Can’t be sure,” Mike replied, getting out. 

“We should probably approach with caution,” Fernandez said. “Hey!” she called after her partner. “Caution, I said! Damn it!” she swore, racing after Mike. He had already reached the door, surprisingly steady for the amount of blood he had lost. 

Mike reached for the door handle, but stopped to press his hand against the wound instead. The pain his motion had caused made bright lights dance across his vision. 

“I’ve got it,” Fernandez said, grabbing the handle and eyeing her partner with concern. She pulled it open, allowing the two detectives to enter with their guns ready. 

“This is the police!” Fernandez called. 

“Smooth,” Mike muttered. Since his partner had already effectively warned anyone in the building of their presence, he also threw caution to the winds. “Alex?” he called. “Are you here?”

“Mike?” came the astonished reply. 

Mike located the place her voice was coming from – a door straight across from the door they had entered through. “Alex?” he asked again. 

“The door is mechanical, I can’t open it from this side,” Alex told him. 

Mike seized the handle and turned it. “Logan, maybe I should do it,” Fernandez said. She pushed him aside to grab the heavy metal door herself. Mike backed off only because he knew that he probably couldn’t get it open in his current state anyway. 

Fernandez pulled the door open and was barely able to step aside in time as Alex hurtled past her. “Did you see where the other car went?” she demanded. 

“Other car?” Fernandez echoed. 

“No we didn’t,” Mike said, following her with a staggering gait. 

Fernandez grabbed her partner’s arm to help keep him upright. “You are in no state to continue,” she told him. 

“I’m fine,” he said, shaking her off. He regretted the rough movement as the world began spinning rapidly around him. Fernandez seized his arm again, pulling it over her shoulders. 

Alex had returned to the warehouse. “Mike…” she trailed off at the sight of him. 

“I’m fine” he said, before she could ask. She hesitated, clearly torn between wanting to do something for him and wanting to continue her search. 

“Why don’t you try calling Logan’s lady friend?” Fernandez asked. She turned to shove her partner down onto a stack of wooden skids sitting outside the warehouse. 

“Carolyn might be able to tell you something,” Mike agreed, shooting an irritated glance at his partner for her description of Carolyn. “The other cops should have reached her now; maybe if the two of you share information you’ll be able to figure out if where Rebecca is.” He then turned to Fernandez again. “Did you think adding splinters to my ass would help distract me from the pain in my gut?” he asked, slightly amused. 

“I just didn’t want you passing out on me,” his partner replied. 

Mike suddenly remembered what Alex had said as she rushed out of the building. “Alex,” he asked, “did you see the person who took the other car?”

“Jonas Slaughter,” Alex replied, pulling out her phone to call Carolyn. “Jonas Slaughter and Rebecca were here.”


	26. Mistake

“Oh you want to play, do you?” Bole asked, chuckling darkly. His fingers flew over the keyboard at an alarming pace, his eyes narrowed in concentration. Anyone who was close enough to hear him was eying him nervously, as though they feared for his sanity. He had been muttering to his screen while working through the defenses set up for the website. 

“Oho – nice try! But I think I’ve got you one better…” his eyes were alight with the excitement of working through the technological defenses. This had been something he enjoyed doing since he was a teenager. The better the defenses put in place, the more fun in trying to take them down. But he was also under a time crunch, so he worked as quickly as possible. 

The hard part had been finding the website. It was slow, tedious work, but now was the exciting part. “What’s this?” Bole exclaimed suddenly. “A membership list? Ah, such a rookie mistake. And here I thought you were smarter than to… encryption!” Bole’s eyes lit up again and he stopped to crack his knuckles before resuming his relentless pounding of the keys. 

“Bole?” Thompson asked as he approached his partner. “I think you’re scaring the locals.”

“Look at this code, Thompson!” Bole replied, his eyes not leaving the screen. “I want to _meet_ this guy! Do you see what he did there, with that series of-”

“Yes, yes, it’s nice code,” Thompson cut his partner off. “Can you crack it?”

“Can I crack it,” Bole said, shaking his head in amusement. “Don’t underestimate my…” He trailed off as the screen went dark. “This guy set up a virus to attack the hacking computer if someone tried to break through the encryption on the list. Wow!”

Thompson shook his head at his partner’s obvious enthusiasm. He seemed genuinely pleased that this unknown person hadn’t made the task too easy. 

“Bole, can I just remind you that we really need that information ASAP, so if you could stop being so cheerful about the roadblocks he set up…”

“Right,” Bole said, looking a bit ashamed of himself. “I’ll get right on it.” He sent the chair he was sitting on spinning away as he launched himself on the ground to work on the computer tower. 

Thompson shook his head as he left his partner to it. Release Bole on a computer problem, and he was like an enthusiastic five-year-old who’d been given the gift he’d looked forward to for months. 

Bole’s cell phone, sitting on the desk, started ringing. “Can you get that?” Bole asked. 

Thompson grabbed his partner’s phone. “Thompson.”

“Oh,” Peters replied. “I thought I was calling Bole.”

“You were,” Thompson replied. “He has his head stuck in a computer right now. Did you find Green?”

“I almost missed him,” Peters replied. “He was taped up in the closet of his office.”

“Fitting,” Thompson said with relish. “Did he know anything?”

“All he would blubber about was that Mandy, Eames, had threatened him, and he wanted to know where his daughter was. I told him he wasn’t getting her back.”

“Good,” Thompson agreed. “He wouldn’t tell you anything about the group?”

“After he finished blubbering he asked for a lawyer.”

“You’re bringing him in?”

“Yes. I thought I’d let you know.”

“Thanks, Peters.”

The two men hung up. Thompson considered relaying the message to Bole, but since they hadn’t really learned anything new, he decided not to distract his partner. 

 

Bobby forced his mind into wakefulness again. The pain in his chest increased the more he woke up, but he didn’t allow himself to slip back into sleep. He was finally able to force his eyes open. 

It was difficult to breathe. Forcing a hand that weighed a ton towards his mouth, he found what was causing the problem. Something was in his mouth, down his throat. He grasped it to pull it away. 

“No, Patrick, leave that in,” his nurse was saying. He didn’t seem to hear her. She pulled his hand away, but he reached to pull it out again with the other. “Patrick no, listen to me, we’ll get that out, but you need to relax first okay? Can you do that?” 

He began to struggle in earnest, forcing the nurse to use her full weight to pin his arms down. “I need some help in here!” she called into the hallway. 

Even in his weakened state, he was still a big, strong man. It took all her strength to keep his arms down. He was struggling against her for all he was worth. She continued to try and talk to him, but he struggled anyway. 

They didn’t understand. Bobby had to get up – he had to look for his family. His family needed him and he would not be kept away from them. He could hear that someone was trying to reassure him but he couldn’t make out the words. He tried to lift his arms, but he couldn’t get them free from whatever had them held in place. His eyes were rolling, but he could only see vague shapes. He focused on a face near his, but then it was blurred and gone again as his eyes continue to wander of their own accord, searching for the only face that could bring him any comfort. 

She wasn’t there, he was sure. He needed to find her. He was going to pull away the thing that was suffocating him, and then he was leaving. He had to get out of there. Using all of his strength, he managed to free one hand. He swung it wildly, intending to free himself, but instead his hand made contact with flesh. He had hit someone. He hadn’t meant to, he just wanted to get away…

The nurse blinked stars from her vision after the patient’s fist made contact with her face. Only concern for her patient had kept her gripping his other arm tightly, and it was also that which forced her into action. She leapt right up on the bed, straddling the patient in order to get a better grip on both arms. 

Two large men had entered and rushed forward to help the rather petite nurse. The security guard seized the patient’s feet while the orderly held down his shoulders. Another nurse was quick to deliver sedation through the IV line. 

When the patient finally stopped fighting, the nurse climbed down off of the bed, shaking. 

“Are you alright Tessa?” 

The nurse, Tessa, turned to face the man who was standing in the doorway. “I’m fine,” she told the doctor, who also happened to be her boyfriend. 

The doctor had entered just in time to see the man clock Tessa in the face. The others were already there to help at that point, so he had made himself useful in another way. 

“I’m issuing the order to put that patient in restraints,” he said. 

Rather than being comforted, Tessa frowned. “He didn’t know what he was doing,” she argued. “He didn’t hit me on purpose, I know it.”

“All the same, he did hit you,” the doctor countered. “I won’t risk having a patient assault the members of this health care team.” Particularly not Tessa. “Put the restraints on him, Tessa. If he’s calmer after the sedation wears off, you can remove them. But until then, I won’t have you or anyone else put in danger.”

She did as she was told. Still, she couldn’t help feeling that it was wrong as she strapped his wrists to the bed. 

 

“Where are we going?” Mendel dared to ask his partner. Kirk was driving at a good twenty miles over the speed limit, his face set in stony silence. 

“To a place where someone can hopefully lead me to Willow,” Kirk replied. His voice was harsh, until he uttered his daughter’s name. Willow’s name fell from his lips as a whispered prayer. A prayer that she was alive, and safe? A prayer that he would find her? Mendel didn’t know. Whatever else Kirk was, whatever else he had done, there was no doubt in Mendel’s mind that this man loved his daughter. 

“Where?” Mendel repeated. 

“To the home of someone named Grant Waverly,” Kirk replied. “His name was listed as a witness to the adoption.”

Mendel had taken the adoption papers from evidence, just in case they had to use them to get Willow for some reason. Kirk had looked at them, and immediately began searching through a phone book without explaining himself to Mendel. Now he knew – Kirk had been looking for Waverly’s address. 

The voice programmed into the GPS announced that they had reached their destination. Kirk pulled over the stolen vehicle, and the two men jumped out and moved quickly towards the house. 

It was a woman who answered the door. They could hear the voices of two little girls calling to each other inside of the house. “Yes?” the woman asked. 

“Ma’am, I’m Detective Mendel, and this is my partner Detective Kirk,” Mendel spoke. His partner looked ready to rush into the house without an invitation. Mendel placed a warning hand on his partner’s arm. “Is this the residence of Grant Waverly?”

“Yes,” the woman replied. “Why are the police looking for my husband?”

“We want to question him about an abduction,” Mendel replied, tightening his grip on Kirk’s arm. He seemed ready to deck the woman on his way in to search for Willow. 

“An abduction?” the woman echoed. “My Grant would never be involved in something like that!”

Kirk opened his mouth to respond, probably with the intent to shout curses at the woman, but Mendel cut him off. “We just want to question him; he may know something about it. He’s not the suspect of our investigation.”

“Oh,” the woman said, relaxing. “Well, he’s at work right now. He won’t be home until later this afternoon.”

“Where does he work?” Kirk asked. 

“He works at a private adoption agency,” Mrs. Waverly replied. 

Kirk and Mendel exchanged glances. An adoption agency? They had assumed that the adoption papers were forged by Goren and Eames after they kidnapped Willow. But if there was an adoption agency involved, then this was much bigger than just the two detectives. 

Momentarily forgetting about the woman standing in the doorway, Kirk turned to his partner. “We need to find out more about this adoption agency.”

“Well, my husband won’t be home until later, but his boss is home,” Mrs. Waverly informed them. 

“Uh, I’m sorry,” Mendel said, confused. “Your husband’s boss lives with you?”

“What?” she asked. “Oh – no!” she laughed. “He lives next door to us.” She waved a hand vaguely towards the left, still smiling. “I saw him arrive back here not too long ago. He had the little girl with him, I’ve forgotten her name… where are you going?”

As soon as the words ‘little girl with him’ had left her lips, Kirk had spun around and raced towards the house as fast as his legs would carry him.

“Thank you,” Mendel said quickly, before racing after his partner. 

“Oh, well, you’re welcome!” she called after him. 

As she closed the door, she muttered to herself, “Oh, I remember now. It was Rebecca.”

 

Slaughter was sure to check the lock on the door. He turned the handle and was satisfied that it was locked. He ignored the small voice that asked, “Granddad?”

He had weighed his options and decided that the small girl in the room had outlived her usefulness. There was only one more way she could be helpful in any way to him now. 

He was not normally one to take action himself. On both other occasions he had hired someone to get the job done. But he had to be sure this time. He needed to see that this last task was completed. Not that he would be the one to actually commit the act…

“Emma,” he called softly. The girl poked her head out of her own room. “Come here,” he said. She followed him docilely down the stairs and into the kitchen. He lit a match, and held it out to her. “You see this flame, Emma?” he asked. 

Emma nodded, watching the fire dance on the match. Slaughter used it to light a fire under the old-fashioned stove. “You see?” he asked. Emma nodded again. 

“It’s quite useful, to know how to use a match,” he told her. “Now you try it.”

He handed her the matchbox. It took her a few tries to light the match, Slaughter encouraging her. It wasn’t often that her father paid this much attention to her, although why he wanted her to learn about the match, she had no idea. She was enjoying his attention.

“Now light the stove, Emma,” he instructed. She did as he asked, smiling as the flame took hold. He let it burn for a few seconds before he put it out. “Again,” he instructed. 

She lit the match again, quicker the second time. He waited as she turned towards the stove again, watching for the ideal moment… Emma dropped the match as she startled. Slaughter had slammed a cupboard door as she turned. 

Emma screamed as the flames took hold on the gasoline he had poured there earlier, unknown to her. “WHAT DID YOU DO?” Slaughter roared, as he seized her arm and yanked her away. 

“I don’t know; I’m sorry!” Emma wailed. “I don’t know what happened, I-”

“Throw some water on it!” he instructed, shoving an orange container at her. Emma did not think to question why he had a strange orange container of water sitting ready in the kitchen. Nor did she question why the water had a strange smell. She had never been to service station or garage to recognize the smell of gasoline. She unscrewed the lid and dumped the foul-smelling water at the flames. 

Emma let out another terrified scream as the flames grew larger. “Get out, we have to get out!” Slaughter insisted. He grabbed her arm to pull her out again. 

“The girl, the girl in her room!” Emma sobbed. 

“Leave her!” Slaughter shouted. “There’s no time!” 

“But the girl, she can’t get out!”

“There’s no time.”

“She’ll die in here!” Emma screeched as her father pulled her from the burning kitchen. 

“You shouldn’t have started a fire then,” Slaughter said coldly. 

“I didn’t mean to, it was an accident! Please, I have to go back; I have to get her out!”

“It’s too late Emma,” Slaughter said. “She’s dead. You killed her with that fire.”

Emma dissolved into terrible sobs. She had been the one to drop the match. She had killed the little girl upstairs. 

“The police won’t believe it was an accident,” Slaughter told her. “They’ll arrest you, and put you in jail. We have to escape now, Emma.”

They had reached the car parked in the driveway. He shoved the sobbing teenager in the car and drove. They would go somewhere else, and start over. Emma believed she was guilty. If anyone ever found them, she would say it was her who threw the gasoline on the fire; she who dropped the match. Not that he planned on being found, but it was always good to have a backup plan. 

 

Rebecca discounted the sound of the door handle turning when no one answered her call. Then she heard shouting coming from downstairs. She got up and tried to open her door, to get to Emma. She sounded upset, and Rebecca wanted to help. 

The door wouldn’t open. She twisted the handle more vigorously, and couldn’t get it to open. “Granddad!” she called. “Granddad, my door won’t open!”

She beat the door with her fists, trying to get his attention. “GRANDDAD!” She continued to alternately pound the door with both fists and angrily twist the handle, to no avail. “Granddad, I can’t” -she broke off to cough-  
“I can’t get this door to open!” She stopped and coughed again. “Granddad!” 

Her voice seemed to have ripped her throat on its way out. It had also gotten a lot more difficult to breathe. She looked down and saw smoke crawling under her bedroom door. “Fire!” she screamed. She turned back to the door and threw her full weight against it. 

“Granddad!” her call turned into a sob. “Come open this door! Help me! Open this door! HELP ME!”

Sobbing between racking coughs, Rebecca tried to remember what she had learned about fires. The only other thing she could remember was to leave the building and go to the meeting place. But she couldn’t get out. 

She backed up to run at the door, slamming into it. The door remained solidly shut, though it was even more difficult to breathe now that she’d slammed into the door and then the floor when she fell. 

“Granddad,” she wheezed. 

He wasn’t coming. He wasn’t coming to let her out of the room. She wished that Daddy or Uncle Mike were here – they were big and strong. They could break down this door. 

“Daddy,” she begged. “Daddy, Mommy…” She had made a mistake. She should have gone with Mommy instead of with Granddad. Now she was stuck in this room with a fire coming. She tried not to think about how much it would hurt to be eaten by the flames. 

She was getting sleepy. She coughed violently, trying to rid her lungs of the smoke, but it wasn’t working. She crawled towards the bed, thinking maybe she would hide from the fire under there…


	27. Flames

Kirk rushed to the back door of the house, intending to break in and search for Willow. Mendel had almost managed to catch up to him. Had they gone for the front door instead, they might have been able to stop Slaughter and Emma from leaving. 

Kirk was about to try the handle when he looked through the glass of the back window. There was smoke filling the room, and he could see the edges of flames dancing in the next room. 

“There’s a fire!” Kirk shouted at his partner. He broke the glass in the window with his elbow and unlocked the door. 

“Don’t go in there!” Mendel cried. “The whole place could blow!”

Kirk had already busted into the house. The only thing he replied with, the only thing that was necessary to say, was: “Willow.” He had to search for his daughter. He had to make sure she wasn’t here. 

He rushed into the room and tried not to cough. The fire was spreading quickly – too quickly. This fire was no accident. “Willow!” Kirk called. “Willow!” He scanned the room frantically, squinting through the smoke and towards the flames. 

He noticed a set of stairs, with flames already licking the bottom. He ran towards them, not even hearing Mendel’s call of, “Kevin – no!”

Leaping over most of the flames, and running quickly enough that he couldn’t feel the edges of fire licking at his heels, he rushed up the stairs. He was still screaming, “Willow!”

Mendel backed out of the house, coughing violently, his eyes stinging with tears. He turned back to see the bottom of the stairs swallowed by flames, blocking the way out. 

He began to run around the house, hoping to find a window, some way for his partner to escape. He almost bowled right into someone else who was making their way around the house. He stumbled back and gasped, shocked by who he had seen. 

 

“Carolyn?”

“Alex!” Carolyn replied, relieved. “What’s going on? Did you find her?”

“Not really,” Alex replied. How could she explain? There wasn’t time.

“Langley and Branch are here with us,” Carolyn told her. “Apparently Mendel and Kirk have escaped, so please, watch your back out there.”

“Do you have any idea where they went?” Alex asked. 

“They took Willow’s forged adoption papers,” Carolyn said. “I assume they’re looking for her, but she’s at the station now anyway.”

Alex paused, thinking about what Carolyn had told her. Waverly’s name was on the adoption papers. Kirk might be heading to Waverly’s house in order to look for Willow. She had been past Waverly’s place once. She had been with Susan, going out to lunch somewhere. Waverly had been in the yard, talking to his neighbor. His neighbor, a white-haired man…

“Son of a bitch!” she yelled. She had seen Slaughter. She had looked right at him and not recognized him. She rushed towards the car, Mike and Fernandez following as fast as they could. 

 

Kirk had pulled his shirt over his mouth. He twisted the door handle of each room, looking inside and then checking the next. He found the last bedroom door locked. 

Pulling the shirt down from his mouth, he called, “Willow? Are you in there?”

No one answered. Then he heard it. A wretched coughing was sounding from inside the room. “Stand back from the door!” he called. “Sweetheart, if you can hear me, back away from the door!” There was no answer, but the coughing continued. Hoping that whoever was in there wasn’t against the door, he kicked it with all his strength. The door flew open and smashed against the wall. 

Inside the room lay a small girl on her front, half hidden under the bed, alternately coughing and whimpering piteously. 

“Willow,” he gasped. He rushed over and pulled her from the bed, turning her over… “Rebecca?” 

Her eyes were closed, the coughing growing weaker. “Wake up, honey,” he said. “Rebecca, wake up sweetheart.” He lifted her into his arms and went back the way he had come. The stairs had been enveloped by flames. He could not go back that way. 

He turned to go back into Rebecca’s room, the furthest from the fire. “Rebecca,” he said again, shaking her slightly. “Come on, honey, you’ve got to stay with me.”

She opened her red-rimmed eyes, bloodshot from the smoke. “Daddy?” she asked. 

His gut clenched at the word, uttered so innocently. “No, sweetheart,” he said. “I’m a detective. I need you to concentrate for me, okay?” he asked. He set her down and went over to the window, trying to pull the latch. 

“Rebecca, do you know where Willow is?”

Rebecca wanted very much to sleep now. In her experience, grown-ups and police officers in particular, would take care of her. She had full confidence in this man to be her rescuer. But he had asked her to concentrate. She tried to stay awake. What had he asked? One word flitted back into her brain: Willow. 

“Willow’s with Mommy and Daddy,” she replied. She had answered. Now she wanted to sleep…

The latch wouldn’t open. Kirk pounded the glass, trying to break it. His head was swimming with lack of oxygen, his body growing weak. He cursed loudly and turned to search the room for something to break the glass with. 

Kirk’s shouted swearing brought Rebecca out of her stupor. “I thought Mommy and Daddy didn’t love me anymore, but they was rescuing Willow.”

“What?” Kirk demanded. He froze only for a second before continuing his search. “What do you mean?” He was probably going to die up here. He needed to know what had happened.

“Mommy and Daddy rescued Willow from the bad men,” Rebecca told him. “I don’t know why they didn’t rescue me too… maybe they couldn’t find me.”

Kirk’s mind reeled with Rebecca’s explanation, but he pushed it aside in favor of pitching an entire toy box at the window. He was rewarded with the sound of shattering glass. The window was cracked. He was able to break it completely open with his elbow. 

He filled his lungs with the rush of air, and then returned for Rebecca. She also seemed to have regained some strength with the oxygen. He carried her over to the window and looked down, thinking Mendel might be there. He was, and so were three other people. 

 

Alex stumbled back, but caught herself before she fell. “Mendel?” she asked. 

“Eames?” Mendel replied. “What-”

She had already rushed past him, heading for the door to the house. “No!” Mendel shouted. “You can’t go in there – hey!” He was nearly knocked over again as Logan and Fernandez chased her to the back door of the burning building. 

The door had been left open by Mendel when he exited the building. The flames had now engulfed the majority of the room, the stairs barely visible anymore. She didn’t care. She had to get up those stairs, to search for her daughter. She didn’t even slow down, running full-tilt towards the house. 

Then she couldn’t run anymore. Mike had seized her around the waist. “You can’t go in there,” he repeated Mendel’s words. “The fire has spread too far.”

“Let go of me!” she screeched. She tried to break free of him, but his arms locked her in place. “Get off of me!” she screamed. “Let go, LET GO!”

He didn’t answer, simply braced his arms tightly. She threw herself forward against his locked arms, still yelling, “Let go of me! Let me go, Logan! I have to get in there! LET GO!” 

Though she was fighting him, her size was against her. He normally wouldn’t have had any trouble restraining her, even as she hit him continually with her fists. But in his weakened state from the gunshot wound, it was all he could do to hang on to her. 

“Let GO!” She threw herself towards the house, causing him to lurch forward. When this happened a second time, he lifted her right off the ground. She kicked wildly, still screaming at him. Her flailing feet made him lose his balance, bringing them both to the ground. It all seemed to take forever, when in reality it was only a couple of seconds. 

She was finally able to get free from his arms. She scrambled to her feet and raced towards the house again, intent on running right through the flames to where her daughter was…

All the breath was knocked out of her. Fernandez had football-tackled her, bringing them both down. Gasping, she tried to get away again, but the other woman kept her pinned long enough for Mike to reach them. Together, they pulled her up and dragged her from the door. 

“No!” she shouted. “NO! Let me go, let me go! Rebecca! Let GO of me! Becky!”

The sound of breaking glass was lost on the three detectives near the door, but Mendel looked up. “Kevin!” he called. His partner broke the rest of the glass and turned away again. “What are you doing?” Mendel called. “Kev – Rebecca?”

At his cry, Alex finally broke free of the other two, and raced to where Mendel looked up at the broken window. Mike and Fernandez followed, and looked up in time to see Kirk lift Rebecca to the window. 

The little girl looked down and saw them at the same time as Kirk. “Mommy!” she cried. 

Sobbing, Alex reached up for the second time that day. “Jump, baby!” she repeated. She remembered that awful moment when her daughter had turned away. But this time there was no hesitation. Even if Rebecca hadn’t already changed her mind about her mother, she was more scared of the fire. 

Scrambling onto the windowsill, she looked down at the waiting arms of her mother… and jumped. 

Air was knocked out of both of their lungs as they collided, but they didn’t care. For the first time in nearly four months, Alex held her daughter close to her. 

Kirk also flung himself from the window. And just in time. Even as he soared through the air, the ground rumbled with an explosion. Everyone standing on the lawn was thrown from their feet. Kirk hit the ground mere moments later, landing near Alex and Rebecca. 

The flames had breached the roof, reaching for the sky. Dark smoke billowed out the gaping top of the house. Next door, Mrs. Waverly peeled herself from the floor to search for her girls before leaving the house. And no one lying on the ground outside the burning building moved.


	28. After the Fire

Rebecca stirred feebly, still wrapped in her mother’s embrace and shielded from the brunt of the explosion. She rubbed her eyes and coughed. She still felt terrible after all the smoke. 

Rebecca lifted her head from her mother’s shoulder and searched out her face. “Mommy?” she asked. “Mommy, wake up.” She shook her mother’s shoulder. “Wake up, Mommy.”

Her mother’s face remained blank, her eyes closed. “Mommy!” Rebecca shouted. 

She turned as she heard someone groan. “Uncle Mike?” she asked hopefully. 

It was not Mike who sat up. It was Mendel. Furthest from the house at the time, he had fared the best, except for Rebecca who had been shielded by her mother. He rubbed the side of his head, where he could already feel a lump forming. He was certain that he had bruised the majority of his right side, which had taken the brunt of the fall, but he was also confident that nothing was broken. 

“Hey, sweetheart,” Mendel said. “Are you hurt?” His first concern was the little girl. She had been the reason they were all at the house, and her safety was the top priority of everyone there. 

“Mommy won’t wake up,” Rebecca replied. 

Mendel forced himself to get up, his legs shaking. It occurred to him that they shouldn’t remain near the house, but first he wanted to see who was able to move. 

“Are you hurt anywhere?” Mendel asked Rebecca.

“My breathing hurts,” she replied. She coughed again, and then whimpered at the pain it caused bother her lungs and throat. “I think my airbags got burnt up,” Rebecca told Mendel, using the word for lungs that her Uncle Mike had taught her as a joke. 

“Okay,” Mendel said. “Does your body hurt anywhere else?”

“Everywhere,” she replied. “But mostly here-” she touched her chest, “- and here.” She touched her throat. 

Mendel crouched next to his partner and felt for a pulse. He waited, hoping… there it was. His partner was still alive. He was face down on the ground, but Mendel was afraid to turn him over in case of a spinal injury. His attention was caught by someone else stirring. Fernandez blinked her eyes open. She was flat on her back, staring up. 

One of her arms was twisted at an unnatural angle. She had hit the ground and rolled before ending up on her back. There was blood dripping into her eye, from a cut in her hairline. He body ached from impact, but she was able to slowly sit up and pull her injured arm towards herself. 

“Kirk’s alive,” Mendel said. He heaved himself to his feet again, heading to where Rebecca sobbed into her mother’s chest. Fernandez moved towards her partner. 

“Logan?” she asked. She knelt down next to him. He was bleeding from a head laceration. There was a lot of blood, but head wounds bleed a lot. Her concern was that he didn’t have much blood to spare at the moment. Then her attention was caught by the spreading bloodstain on his shirt. She pulled it open, fearing the worst. “Damn it, partner!” she snapped. She snapped not out of irritation, but worry. The gunshot wound was bleeding freely. Judging by the amount of drying blood, it had probably opened up before they even got there. She pressed her hands firmly onto the wound. 

Mendel settled himself next to where Rebecca was still nestled in her mother’s arms. Alex’s hair was damp with blood. He placed his fingers over the place where her pulse should be found, and waited. Please, he begged no one in particular; don’t make me pry this little girl from her dead mother’s arms. 

He breathed a sigh of relief. She was still alive. Rebecca looked up and caught sight of the blood for the first time. “Mommy, you’re hurt!” she exclaimed. “I kiss it better.” She wriggled up further to plant a kiss over the injury. 

“You know, sweetheart, I think pressure would be better in this case,” Mendel said. He felt through her hair, wet with blood, to try and find the source. He found it – along with the cause. A good sized rock just happened to be the place where she hit the ground. 

“Any signs of life?” Mendel tossed over his shoulder. 

“He’s breathing,” Fernandez replied shortly. 

“Are Mommy, Uncle Mike, and the other detective gonna be okay?” Rebecca asked. 

Mendel was saved answering as his partner moaned and began to stir. He tried to roll over, but stopped and gasped in pain. 

“Don’t move, Kevin!” Mendel instructed. “You could have a spinal injury.”

“I don’t know about that,” Kirk gasped, “but my leg is definitely broken.”

Mendel looked over and bit his tongue to keep from exclaiming. He had been more concerned with signs of life, spinal injuries, or head injuries when he checked his partner. He now noticed that his right leg, which was turned slightly and facing Mendel, had part of the femur protruding from it. He was grateful that his partner couldn’t see how bad it was, and he didn’t enlighten him. 

Rebecca had turned to try and see Kirk. “You look after your Mom,” Mendel said, moving slightly to block her view. “Detective Kirk is fine, but Mommy needs all of your attention right now. She needs lots of hugs to get better.” 

Rebecca obeyed, snuggling close to her mother and no longer trying to see Kirk. Mendel thought it was better if she didn’t have that image branded into her mind. 

“Rebecca?” Kirk asked. “Is she okay?” He would have asked sooner, but he had been afraid that he would vomit from the pain if he opened his mouth. He had waited for the nausea to subside first. It had taken all of his concentration, and he hadn’t heard what Mendel had said. 

Mendel nodded encouragement, and Rebecca answered. “I’m okay, detective.” Kirk breathed a sigh of relief. “Detective?” Rebecca added. “Thank you for rescuing me.”

“You’re welcome, honey,” Kirk replied. He waited a moment, biting his tongue and trying to block out the pain from his broken leg. Then he spoke again, asking, “Everyone else?”

“I’m fine,” Mendel began, “Eames is still out, but I only see the one head wound and some minor lacerations and bruises. Fernandez is over with Logan.”

“He’s got a nasty head wound,” Fernandez replied, “and his other injury opened up again.” She could not keep the anger out of her voice when she said that. Kirk had been the one to cause that wound. If Mike bled out because of the combined effects of both wounds, she was going to give Kirk more than just a broken leg. “I’ve just busted my arm,” she added as an afterthought. 

All of the detectives would have been a lot more hostile if it weren’t for the events that had just occurred. Fernandez wanted to rip Kirk apart limb by limb for what he had done to her partner, but he had just rescued Rebecca. Mendel had been hostile towards Eames and Logan for so long, it would have been hard to break that habit. Especially since he hadn’t heard what Rebecca said. At the moment, he was more intent on saving Rebecca’s mother than he was thinking of what they had suspected her of. Kirk’s only focus was the children. 

The first sign of her coming to was her arms tightening around Rebecca. Even unconscious, she was unwilling to let her daughter get away again. “Mommy?” Rebecca asked hopefully. 

Alex’s eyes opened and settled on Rebecca. Identical eyes found each other, and both of them smiled. “Are you okay, baby?” Alex asked. 

“I’m okay, Mommy,” Rebecca replied. “But my airbags hurt.”

Alex chuckled slightly at her choice of words. She reached up to take over applying the pressure to her head wound, and Mendel moved on to his partner without another word. 

“Mommy, can Uncle Mike wake up now too please?” Rebecca asked. 

Alex struggled to a sitting position. “How’s he doing?” she asked Fernandez. 

“He’s still out,” Fernandez replied tightly. “But his pulse is strong and his breathing is regular. He’ll be okay.”

Alex, still holding Rebecca in one arm with the hand from the other pressed to her head, got up to make her way over to Mike. She looked down at Kirk, who was watching her with an unreadable expression. 

This was the man who had shot both Mike and Bobby. But this was also the man who had saved Rebecca. She stopped and went over to him, anticipating what he would say before he formed the question. 

“Willow?” he asked. 

“She’s safe,” Alex replied. “Agent Peters took Willow to the station. They’re waiting for your wife to fly in and pick her up.”

“Thank you.”

She didn’t reply. Instead she glanced down at Rebecca, and then back to him. He understood. She was grateful for her daughter’s life, and thought he had earned the knowledge that his own daughter was safe. But she had by no means forgiven him. 

She knelt down next to her friend. Rebecca leaned forward to place a small hand on his cheek. They waited, but he didn’t regain consciousness. The sound of sirens brought them out of their reverie. 

Mike and Kirk were fitted with neck braces and strapped to the backboards. They were brought in the first two ambulances on scene, as they were the most critical. The others remained silent, other than answering the paramedic’s questions. 

The three remaining detectives and Rebecca waited for the next ambulance. They were assessed on-scene first, and Mendel was deemed well enough to travel to the hospital himself. 

Alex, Rebecca, and Fernandez went in the next ambulance. Alex convinced Rebecca to let the paramedics put an oxygen mask over her mouth and nose by telling her it would make her ‘airbags’ feel better. One of the paramedics stitched up Alex’s head wound and splinted Fernandez’s arm. 

“Which one of you is Eames?” the paramedic asked. 

“I am,” Alex replied. Rebecca also helpfully pointed to her mother. The paramedic smiled at Rebecca and then turned to Alex. “Someone left word for us to tell you to that we’re heading to the hospital where your husband is recovering from surgery.”

“He’s okay?” Alex asked tremulously. 

“His condition was stable when we got the call,” the paramedic replied. 

Alex’s eyes brimmed with tears. Only this time, they were happy tears. Bobby was alive, and she had Rebecca back. 

“We’re going to see Daddy,” Alex told Rebecca. The oxygen mask shifted, so she knew Rebecca smiled.


	29. Reunited

Alex and Fernandez walked through the doors to the hospital. Rebecca was wheeled in on a gurney, her hand clenched inside of her mother’s. They had to take her to get checked out by a doctor. 

Fernandez saw the other woman glance towards the elevator longingly every few seconds. She wanted to go and make sure Bobby was okay with her own eyes, Fernandez was sure. 

“Do you want me to stay with Rebecca while you check on Bobby?” Fernandez asked. 

Alex shook her head. “Thanks, but I need to stay with her.” Her eyes hardened. “I won’t abandon her again.”

Fernandez considered telling her that none of this was her fault, but she didn’t really know her that well, and she wasn’t sure it was her place to say something. She could crack a joke no problem, but talking about one’s feelings, that was a different story. 

“Well, if you want I can go and check on him,” Fernandez offered instead. 

Alex smiled gratefully. “Would you?” she asked. “Could you tell him that we’re on our way?” 

Sure,” Fernandez replied. “Then I’ll go make sure my partner is still with us.”

She turned and walked away, heading to reception to ask where Bobby and Mike were. 

Alex turned back to Rebecca. She hadn’t released her daughter’s hand for the entire ambulance ride. She didn’t ever want to let Rebecca out of her reach again. 

 

Alex looked up and saw Fernandez walking back towards them. Rebecca had suffered from smoke inhalation, but she was doing very well. The doctor had taken her off the oxygen, and when she continued to do well it was determined that she didn’t need to be admitted to the hospital. 

Alex set Rebecca on her hip, thanked the doctor, and went to meet Fernandez. “How is he?” Alex asked. When Fernandez hesitated, Alex felt her heart leap into her throat. Had his situation been worse than she thought?”

“He’s okay, physically,” Fernandez assured her. 

“What do you mean?” Alex asked. 

“They… they have him in restraints,” Fernandez replied. Alex’s eyes widened, and then clouded in anger. “Apparently he attacked one of the nurses, so they sedated him and put him in restraints.”

“No,” Alex said firmly. “He wouldn’t.”

“He was really out of it when he came to; they’re not sure if he was even fully conscious,” Fernandez explained. “His nurse, the one that he hit, said that she could tell he didn’t do it on purpose. She said he was in a panic. She sounded really sorry about having to put him in restraints.”

“I should have been here,” Alex muttered to herself. 

“You couldn’t have been,” Fernandez argued. “You had to be where you were.”

Alex sighed, knowing there was no winning situation. She had made the best choice she could, given the circumstances. Looking down at Rebecca, cuddled against her, she knew she had made the right choice. Once Bobby woke again, she would reassure him, they would take the restraints off, and everything would be okay again. 

“And what about Mike?” Alex asked. 

“He’s in surgery, but they assured me he’ll make a full recovery,” Fernandez replied. Alex nodded, relieved.

“Do you have Carolyn Barek’s number?” Fernandez asked. “I think I should probably call her.”

“Yes,” Alex replied. She gave the number to Fernandez, who went outside to call Carolyn. She then proceeded up the stairs to her husband’s room. 

“Rebecca,” Alex said. Rebecca looked up at her. The little girl’s cheeks were still blackened from the smoke, and both she and Alex smelled like fire. “We’re going to see Daddy now, but he is sleeping,” Alex said. “The doctors gave him medicine to help him sleep and get better, so we’re not going to be able to wake him up. There are going to be a lot of machines around him, but I don’t want you to worry, okay?”

“Okay, Mommy,” Rebecca replied. “I’m glad to just see Daddy.” Then she paused, thoughtful. “Mommy?” she asked. Alex nodded to show she heard. “Where is Willow?” Rebecca asked. “Granddad showed me that you and Daddy had her, but she’s not with you, and if Daddy’s sleeping in the hospital, then she’s not with him.”

Alex stiffened when she heard Rebecca mention her ‘granddad’. “Willow is at the police station waiting for her Mommy to come and get her,” she replied. 

“Oh, good,” Rebecca said. “It’s better that she has her real Mommy and I have mine. Better than her stealing my parents and leaving me all by myself.”

“Rebecca?” Alex asked. “You didn’t think we’d chosen Willow instead of you, did you?” 

Rebecca frowned. “Granddad said that you and Daddy adopted Willow to replace me, ‘cause you didn’t love me anymore.” Alex felt her anger flare again, but kept silent to allow Rebecca to finish. “But then Emma said that Willow was taken away from her family too, and she said that granddad had lied about the men, and he was really the boss of them. So I thought maybe you and Daddy was rescuing Willow, to take her back to her family ‘cause you is the police. But then I was thinking, if Willow’s room was right next to mine… why didn’t you rescue me too?”

“Oh Becky,” Alex whispered around the lump in her throat. “We never saw your room. Someone brought Willow to us. If we had known where you were, we would have come to get you in a heartbeat. Daddy and I love you, Becky. We won’t ever stop loving you, and we were never going to stop searching until we found you.”

“Okay, Mommy,” Rebecca said, sounding more reassured. “I love you and Daddy too.”

Alex wrapped her arms around her daughter more tightly. She may have convinced her for the time being, but she knew Rebecca would have a long way to go before she fully trusted her parents again. It would take a lot of reassurance, and time, before she had recovered emotionally from her ordeal. She wondered if their relationship could ever be the same again. 

They had reached Bobby’s room, and Alex pushed to door open. “Daddy!” Rebecca exclaimed. Alex approached the bed and her daughter surprised her by disregarding all of the medical equipment and launching herself forward to plant a kiss on her father’s cheek. 

She turned as she heard someone come in. Tessa had come in to check her patient. “Oh, you’re finally here,” she said coldly. 

“I came as soon as I could,” Alex replied, also coldly. This woman had no idea what she had gone through in the past couple of hours, and her judgment made Alex angry. 

Tessa turned away without answering, and began to assess the patient. “Patrick seems to be doing well,” Tessa said, addressing the man’s wife grudgingly. 

“My Daddy’s name is Bobby,” Rebecca corrected. Tessa turned to look at the little girl for the first time. She noticed the smoke-stained cheeks right away, along with the heat-frizzed hair, and disheveled appearance. She also noticed the dried blood in the woman’s hair. And why was the patient admitted under the wrong name?

She hadn’t really looked at them upon entering, convinced as she was that they didn’t care. Now she realized that something else was going on. “It’s a long story,” Alex said, upon seeing Tessa’s reaction. 

It was obvious that the little girl had been near a fire, and the woman had knocked her head on something too. They had been through some sort of ordeal while the man was in here, and Tessa was sorry for her snap judgment. 

“He’s going to be out for the next few hours for sure, if you want to go home and get cleaned up,” Tessa offered. 

Alex nodded. That made sense. It would be better if Bobby woke to them looking a right side better than they did now. She would return right away. Better they were gone while he was asleep anyway. 

She turned to go, meeting up with Fernandez on the way out. “They want to see the two of you at the station,” Fernandez said. “When I called Carolyn, she told me.”

“Right,” Alex said. “I wanted to get us cleaned up first.”

“Well you can’t go back to the house, it’s a crime scene,” Fernandez told her. Alex immediately felt stupid for not realizing that herself. “I booked Logan and I two rooms in a motel here, just in case,” she continued. She passed Alex the passkey to the room, and said, “Here, you can use the shower in my room.”

“Thank you,” Alex said gratefully. She would take Rebecca back there to get them both cleaned up, and then she would go to the police station. Woe to anyone there who tried to keep her from returning to the hospital before her husband woke up.

 

Alex had explained the whole story to the law enforcement agents at the police station. She had begun with how she and Bobby had decided to look for their daughter themselves, and ended with the events that had occurred at Jonas Slaughter’s house. 

They had then wanted to ask her more about Slaughter, but Alex told them to read the file. She wanted to get back to Bobby, and she didn’t want Rebecca to hear any more about the case than she had to. Though they had offered, Alex point blank refused to let Rebecca stay with one of the officers in the child-friendly rooms. 

She was about to leave again, when Willow caught sight of her. The little girl had been glued to Thompson ever since he interviewed her, but at the sight of Alex she finally released his hand and sprinted over. Willow launched herself at Alex’s legs, gripping them tightly. 

Rebecca watched her with a sullen expression. She had her Mommy back, and she didn’t like Willow coming over to steal her again! But when Willow released Alex’s legs and stepped back so that her face was visible, Rebecca changed her mind. 

This girl did not look like a threat. She didn’t look mean. She looked… broken. And Rebecca’s natural sympathy overcame her jealousy. Her resentment faded at the sight of the sad, scared little girl. Tentatively, she reached out to take the other girl’s hand. 

“I’m Rebecca,” she offered. 

Willow hesitated a moment, and looked back at Alex, who smiled encouragingly. “I’m Willow,” she replied softly. 

Alex checked her watch. There was still at least an hour before the sedation would wear off. She sat back down to wait with Willow. “Jeffery’s gonna get my Mommy,” Willow said. 

“We’ll wait with you,” Rebecca assured her. “Right, Mommy?”

“We’ll wait,” Alex replied. 

The parents of all the missing girls had gone on the first flight to California. They were expected to arrive soon. The other four girls were sitting with detectives throughout the squad room. Laura was still in Carolyn’s lap, a few desks away from where Alex sat with Rebecca and Willow. Giselle and Taylor were playing two on one tic-tac-toe with Langley. Emma was sitting with Branch and watching the doors for any sign of her family. 

The doors burst open, and it was clear to everyone that this was the family of the missing children. All the people that entered had that wild, panicked look until their eyes settled on their no longer missing child. Then there was just overwhelming relief. 

The first to enter was a tall man with a crew-cut, whose long stride had allowed him to pull slightly ahead of the others. “Daddy!” Giselle called, abandoning the game. “I did everything you told me, Daddy!” Giselle told him, even as she raced towards him. In four long strides, he had reached her and swept her off the ground into his arms. 

“I scratched them all up to get their D and A under my fingernails, and I looked close at everything and everyone so I could tell you, and I checked for police badges, and Daddy I _missed_ you!” A usually gruff man, Agent Vanderburgh was holding back tears as he held his daughter close. Giselle was dwarfed in his arms, but couldn’t have been happier. 

“I missed you too,” he whispered hoarsely. 

The next man to enter was Laura’s father. He had left straight from work to get on the plane, and he was still wearing his sheriff’s uniform. Laura burst into renewed sobs, squealing, “Daddy!” 

Carolyn stood up to meet him, and passed Laura over to her father. He held her against his chest and whispered her name over and over. “Laura, Laura, Laura…”

With her head over his shoulder, she had a view of another couple racing towards her. “Mommy; Seth!” she called. Laura leaned sideways in her father’s arms to wrap one arm around her mother’s neck while keeping the other around her father’s. She reached the hand around her mother towards her stepfather, who grasped it tightly.

“That’s her, there she is!” a woman screamed. “Emma!” 

Emma’s hair streamed behind her as she raced towards her mother and was lifted off the ground in an embrace. A man was not far behind, and he folded both Emma and her mother into his arms. 

“Mommy, Daddy, I love you,” Emma mumbled into her mother’s chest. 

“We love you too,” her mother sobbed. 

“We love you too,” her father echoed gruffly. 

Taylor bounded towards the next two people who burst through the doors, and leapt right into her father’s arms. He swept her up, right over his head, and then brought her towards his chest again. “How’s my junior detective?” he asked, the familiar greeting catching in his throat. 

He passed Taylor over to her mother as she reached them, allowing her to have her own turn to wrap her daughter in a bone-crushing hug. Her mother’s own hair fell over Taylor’s, and two sets of inky black curls blended together. “We missed you baby,” her mother said. 

“Missed you guys too,” Taylor replied. “I love you.”

And last to enter was Carol Kirk. Dark circles ringed her eyes as she scanned the room, looking between all of the happily reunited parents desperately. 

“Mommy!” Willow called. Her face broke into a smile of pure joy, and she slid off of Alex’s lap to race into her mother’s waiting arms. Alex realized with a start that this was the first time she had ever seen Willow smile. 

Carol folded Willow into her arms and covered her with kisses. She settled down to sit on the floor of the squad room, still right by the doors, pulling Willow into her lap. “Willow,” she whispered. She rocked the little girl back and forth and wept. 

Willow had wrapped her arms around her mother, clinging to her tightly. She didn’t speak again, but she didn’t have to. She was safe in her mother’s arms. 

Alex tore her gaze away from Carol and Willow to look for Carolyn. They could head to the hospital together now. Hailey’s mother had been to take her to stay with her sister. All of the girls were safe. 

She spotted Carolyn looking in Emma’s direction with unfocussed eyes. The little girl’s words echoed in her mind: _“Are you going to find big Emma too?”_

One girl was still missing.


	30. The Biggest Lie

Bobby struggled to consciousness once again. He fought against the straps keeping him bound, unsure as of yet whether they were real or imagined. And then he thought he heard the voice he had been listening for. She was saying his name, trying to calm him down. 

He forced his eyes open to scan the dimly lit room. It was late in the evening. He thought perhaps he might be dreaming, and this thought was confirmed by the next voice he heard. _Daddy…_

Bobby’s eyes fell shut again. There was no point in fighting his own unconscious mind. Then he heard it again – louder and more clearly. “Daddy?”

His eyes flew open again, settling first on Alex who was alive and smiling… a true smile, which he hadn’t seen in what felt like a lifetime. And then his gaze turned to – “Rebecca,” he gasped. 

Alex lifted her up, and Rebecca settled herself down against her father’s side, looking up at him. “Daddy,” she repeated. She burrowed as close as she could and promptly fell asleep, exhausted by her long day and the late hour. 

He went to wrap his arms around her, and found that he couldn’t lift them. The restraints he had been fighting weren’t in his head. He looked down to see both of his wrists strapped firmly to the bedrails. 

He turned to look at Alex, the question asked with his eyes. Her smile faded. “They… had to do that when you came to the first time,” she explained. "They didn’t want to risk the nurses getting injured.”

Bobby closed his eyes, remembering how his fist had made contact with flesh. “I’m sorry,” he said, even though the person he should be apologizing to wasn’t there. 

“Don’t be,” Alex said. “It wasn’t your fault. Carolyn went to get the doctor now. Once he sees that you’re calm, he’ll let them take the restraints off.”

Bobby nodded. He looked down at Rebecca, and a true smile spread across his own features. “How?” he asked. “How did you find her?” 

“It’s kind of a long story,” she told him. 

“I want to know everything,” he said. “First – is Willow safe?”

“Yes,” Alex replied. “Willow’s mother picked her up from the police station about an hour ago.”

Bobby sighed in relief, and then cringed from the pain the movement caused. They both turned to look at the doorway and saw Carolyn come back in and settle herself at the other bed in the room. “The doctor should be here soon,” she said.   
Bobby turned to look at the occupant of the other bed. “Mike?” he asked. 

Carolyn nodded in response. “The explosion on top of his old wound opening up-” she broke off at the look on Bobby’s face. “You hadn’t told him yet,” Carolyn guessed, her heart sinking. 

“I was getting there,” Alex replied, annoyed. 

“Explosion?” Bobby demanded, after finding use of his words again. “What explosion? What happened? Is everyone okay? _What_ explosion?”

“Relax!” Alex instructed, indicating Rebecca. “Everyone is fine.” Bobby settled down, but still stared earnestly at her. Alex wasn’t really too worried about him waking their daughter, but she didn’t want the doctor to come in just in time to see him getting worked up and risk having the restraints left on. 

At the next bed, Mike began to stir. He blinked his eyes open and saw the hospital room. “Damn,” he muttered. Then he turned to see Carolyn. “Damn, I’m really in trouble” he muttered, causing her scowl to break into a smile. 

“Mike; you okay?” Bobby asked. 

Mike turned to see his friend in the next bed. “Bobby!” he called, relieved. “I’m fine man, nothing to worry about.”

“Well then,” Bobby said mischievously, “it was nice of you to drop in.”

“Smartass,” Mike returned. He couldn’t help the stupid grin that spread across his face despite the fact that he had been the butt of someone’s joke. The fact that Bobby had made a joke, and more importantly, the sight of Rebecca nestled against him, filled him with relief. 

The moment of contentment among the group was disturbed by someone else entering the room. They turned, expecting to see a doctor or nurse. Alex hoped that they had come to remove the restraints. But it was not a doctor or a nurse. 

“Henderson, Branch,” Alex said, surprised. “I think that whatever questions you have can wait until tomorrow.”

Both men shifted uncomfortably, but said nothing. Alex felt her heart sink when they hovered in the doorway, still looking uncomfortable. Bobby, Mike, and Carolyn could also feel the tension in the room. Carolyn rose from her chair, frowning. Bobby attempted to move, but merely caused the bedrails to rattle as he pulled at the restraints. Mike adopted a defensive posture, ready to leap from the bed if necessary. 

“Perhaps you could step outside?” Branch suggested to Alex. 

“Why should she?” Mike demanded aggressively. Carolyn placed a warning hand on his shoulder. 

“It might be best that we don’t do this in front of your family,” Henderson added. 

“Do what?” Bobby demanded. 

No one answered, but Alex knew. She supposed she should have been expecting this moment to come. It probably would be better if she left the room, but her feet weren’t obeying her thoughts. Her gaze was pulled, almost involuntarily, to where Rebecca slept. Would it be worse for her to witness this, or to think her mother abandoned her again?

She couldn’t decide, and since she wasn’t showing any signs of moving, Henderson squared his shoulders and walked towards her, Branch following. 

Her eyes flew to Bobby’s, and she saw the realization dawn on him. “No,” he said. “No!” 

“What’s going on?” Carolyn asked.

Henderson grabbed Alex’s arms firmly. She didn’t bother to resist – what good would it do? “Alexandra Eames,” he said reluctantly, “You are under arrest.”

“WHAT?” Mike demanded. 

Carolyn tried to shove Mike back, but he was out of the bed and advancing on the detectives. Branch stepped in front of his partner, who had snapped the handcuffs on. 

“Don’t do this,” Branch pleaded. 

“You have the right to remain silent,” Henderson continued, as if nothing was happening. 

“No,” Bobby repeated. “No, you can’t do this! NO!”

She knew that look on his face; recognized the panic in his voice. “Bobby…” Alex said, wanting to calm him down, but unsure of what to do. 

His shout had woken Rebecca, who sat up. “Daddy?” she asked. “What’s going on?”

“You have the right to an attorney.” Henderson was still reading her rights as though completely unaware anyone else was present. 

Rebecca looked over. “Mommy?” she asked, panicky. “What’s going on?”

“It’s okay honey,” Alex assured her. “You’re going to stay here with Daddy. I have to go away for a while, but-”

“No!” Rebecca cried. “Don’t leave me!”

Henderson raised his voice and continued, though no one was paying him any attention, “If you cannot afford an attorney one will be appointed for you.”

Alex tried to keep herself together; tried to stay calm. “I have to baby.”

“No – Mommy!” Rebecca slid off the bed and ran towards her. Bobby tried to catch her, but was caught by the restraints. He began to struggle against them, trying to rip the rails right off the bed in order to get free. 

Branch knelt down to stop Rebecca, who screamed in terror. She had been captured again. “HELP!” she wailed. 

“Get away from her!” Mike pulled the hysterical four-year-old from Branch towards himself. 

“Let me go!” Rebecca cried. Mike tried to whisper soothingly to her even as rage boiled inside of him. 

“Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?” Henderson was practically yelling now. 

“There must have been a mistake,” Carolyn said. Henderson began to haul Alex forward, Carolyn following. “You can’t seriously be arresting her. And in front of her family – her daughter!”

“Detective Eames broke the law,” Branch said heavily. “We have to arrest her.”

Carolyn stopped following. They obviously did not want to be doing this. They had received orders. If they had wanted to arrest her, they would have done it when she was in the station earlier. The orders must have come from someone high up, and recently. And that meant that there was nothing Carolyn could do to stop it. 

Nurses rushed into the room, sedation ready. Bobby had caused the bed to shift position in his desperate bid to free himself, and was now shouting incomprehensibly. “I’m placing this patient on a psych hold,” the doctor informed them as they followed into the room. The patient was obviously not lucid, and had it not been for the restraints, they would have had a hell of a time sedating him. 

“Uncle Mike, let me go!” Rebecca insisted. “Why are they taking Mommy? I WANT MOMMY! Mommy? MOMMY!”

“Wait,” Alex pleaded. She had tried to remain calm, but she could hear Rebecca calling for her. She had only just gotten her back! This was going to traumatize her. 

“Wait, I have to go back,” Alex repeated. “Please, I’ve got to talk to her, please!” 

Henderson and Branch didn’t reply, they simply kept moving forward, disgusted with what they were forced to do. 

“Please, just wait, I need to back…” Alex now understood why it was that so many people tried to run at the moment of their arrest, even when escape was so blatantly impossible. It was instinct – pure desperation. Or maybe it was just her. 

“Do you understand your rights as I have read them to you?” Henderson repeated flatly. 

Did she understand her rights? Did she understand that sometimes even the wrong choice seemed like the right one; or maybe it was the other way around? Did she understand that what she had done to get her daughter back had caused her to lose Rebecca now? Did she understand that she had no idea when she was going to see her family again?

She didn’t understand anything. It was all so confusing. She could hear Rebecca’s cries fading as the elevator doors shut. Nothing made any sense. But Henderson was waiting for an answer. 

“I understand my rights,” she replied. “I understand.”

It was probably the biggest lie she had ever told.


	31. Not a High School Debate Team

She had never been on this side of the table before. Alex sat and stared at the interrogation room’s two-way glass. She knew that there were people on the other side. She pulled her hands up onto the table, rattling the chain that kept her cuffs bound to the table, and folded them. She stared calmly at the glass, blinking only when necessary. She had done hundreds of interrogations, and there was no way any of their techniques would escape her notice, or have any effect. 

On the other side of the glass, Henderson, Branch, and another man stood. 

“Do you know that her daughter was screaming the whole time?” Branch spat. “Do you have any idea what this is going to do to her? I hope your happy, Malloy.”

ADA Malloy glanced coolly at the other detective. “I didn’t realize you were such a bleeding heart, Branch.”

“I didn’t realize you were such an asshole, Malloy,” Branch snapped in response.

Malloy shrugged, unfazed. “She broke the law. She should have thought of the trauma her daughter would suffer as a result of her arrest before she broke the law.”

“She was thinking of her daughter,” Henderson put in. 

“Well, Rebecca Goren will get her justice as soon as you and your colleagues find Jonas Slaughter, and anyone else involved in this case,” Malloy countered haughtily. 

“Oh yes,” Henderson said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, “we’ll just nip out and round them up as soon as we’ve had a nice relaxing coffee and donut break. You see, we’ve just been too lazy to go out and get them. Oh wait – we’ve been too busy arresting innocent people!”

“If you think that women is innocent, you’re not fit to enforce the law,” Malloy said coldly. “I could write a book with the list of offences she’s been charged with.”

“Why don’t you do that then?” Branch suggested sarcastically. 

“I might, after she’s convicted,” Malloy replied with a nasty smirk. 

“Screw you!” Branch snapped. 

Malloy wrinkled his nose in distaste at Branch’s outburst. “If you’re going to behave like a child, Detective Branch, perhaps you should sit this interrogation out.”

Branch held his hands up in surrender, his face a mask of anger. He turned on the spot and stormed off. Malloy turned back to Henderson. “Can you handle this better than your partner, Henderson?” he asked. “Because if the two of you can’t handle this interrogation, I’ll find someone who can.”

Henderson fumed silently at the familiar words. _“If you won’t arrest her, I’ll find someone who will!”_ It was the reason he and his partner had ended up at the hospital that night – they would try and handle her arrest as delicately as possible, although they had failed miserably. 

Henderson and Malloy turned at the sound of approaching footsteps. Bole, his eyes bloodshot from hours on the computer, was approaching with Thompson not far behind. 

“I’ve got the list,” Bole said, brandishing a piece of paper. “All we need to do now is to arrest the people on this list.”

Henderson nodded, and Malloy frowned. “You take care of it then, I need interrogators here.”

Thompson adopted his darkest scowl and pulled himself into his most aggressive posture. “Are you attempting to instruct members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation?” he asked coldly. 

Malloy, however, was not intimidated. “Henderson is not available at the moment.”

Bole turned to look in the room. “Who’s so important that you need to interrogate right now anyway?” His jaw dropped open. Thompson glanced quickly from his partner to the glass. 

It was a sight that Thompson had been expecting up until recently. But he now thought that this wasn’t the right course of action. “Under what authority did you order her arrest?” Thompson demanded. “This is the Bureau’s case – Detective Eames is from the State of New York; you have no right to charge her.”

“Her crimes were committed in the state of California,” Malloy countered. “Which means that I have every right to charge her.” 

“You are interfering with a Federal investigation,” Thompson accused. 

“I have no intention of interfering with the Federal investigation,” Malloy said smoothly. “The FBI was brought in to deal with the kidnapping of Rebecca Goren, Willow Kirk, Emma Johansen, Taylor Franklin, Giselle Vanderburgh, and Laura Rendell. That means that Jonas Slaughter, who instigated the kidnappings and transferred the girls across state lines, is prosecutable under the FBI’s jurisdiction. The crimes committed by Eames, Kirk, Green, Waverly, and any others associated with the girls after their transfer here, is prosecutable by the State of California.”

“Kirk committed crimes in the state of New York,” Bole argued, trying to find a hole in Malloy’s logic. 

“They can file for extradition once the state of California is through with him,” Malloy said, still calm and speaking smoothly. 

Langley and Fisher had come over to find out when they were to begin arresting the men on the list, and had heard Malloy’s explanation. They glanced at Thompson and Bole, waiting for them to make another argument. 

“I suppose you’re going to arrest Goren too?” Bole asked scathingly. 

“Goren is under a psych hold at the moment,” Malloy replied. “I don’t think he needs to be prosecuted at present – he is obviously not committing any crimes while under psychiatric observation. It would be a waste of time to charge him if he’s just going to plead not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect anyway.”

Malloy appraised the others coldly. “If that’s all,” he said, “we have an interrogation.” He opened the door and indicated for the reluctant Henderson to enter first. The door snapped shut behind him.

“Can’t you do something?” Langley asked, rounding on Thompson and Bole. “You’re the FBI!”

“Yes,” Thompson said with a weary sigh, “And contrary to what the police think, we can’t just swoop in and take over whatever case we want. We have our orders too. There’s nothing we can do.”

Bole glanced down at the list in his hand, which he had spent the last couple of hours retrieving. “I guess I’ll go back to hunting Slaughter down then,” he said in a subdued voice. He handed the list over to the captain of the station, who could send his men after the people on the list. 

Thompson, Fisher, and Langley followed listlessly. They could not have any part in the arrest, even though it was Bole who found the names. Fisher and Langley didn’t even have the authority to arrest anyone in California. 

“Shall I break the news to Peters?” Fisher asked. He was becoming used to no one answering the questions he asked. With a weary sigh, he dialed the agent’s number. 

 

“All rise for the honorable Judge Turcotte presiding!” 

Alex stood as the judge entered the courtroom, still in a state of shock. Next to her, the lawyer someone had hired for her buttoned his suit jacket. It didn’t seem possible that she could be here in court, with charges against her. 

Once everyone except for the ADA, Alex, and her lawyer, had sat down again, Judge Turcotte ordered the charges against the accused to be read. 

“One count kidnapping in the first degree of the minor Hailey Green,” was the first charge read from the list. “One count accessory after the fact in the kidnapping of Willow Kirk. One count assault with a deadly weapon against Kevin Kirk. Two counts assault in the second degree of Blake Green and Grant Waverly. One count threat of bodily harm with regard to Blake Green. Two counts of unlawful imprisonment of Willow Kirk and Blake Green. One count of production of child pornography. One count of promoting the sexual performance of a minor. One count each for accessory to the production of child pornography and accessory to the promotion of the sexual performance of a minor. One count possessing an unregistered firearm. One count concealment of a deadly weapon. One count of identity theft. Two counts for the possession of false documents. Two counts of criminal trespass in the first degree – the residence of Blake Green and Angus Townsend.” 

Alex remained standing and staring at the room without really seeing it, letting the monologue of charges wash over her without truly listening. At the prosecutor’s table, the man standing there cleared his throat. “Assistant District Attorney Brian Malloy for the people,” he announced. 

Beside her, Alex’s lawyer followed suit. “Jasper Harper for the defense, your honor.” 

“How does your client plead, Mr. Harper?” Turcotte asked. Despite the long reading of charges, he had been listening carefully the entire time, not as some judges barely paid attention. Alex thought he was probably a very conscientious judge, and she wasn’t sure if that was good or bad for her. 

“Not guilty, your honor,” Harper replied. 

Turcotte nodded, not expecting anything different. “I’ll hear the people on bail.”

“The people ask for remand, your honor,” Mallory said promptly. “Given the number and severity of the charges against the defendant, we consider her a flight risk. Especially given the fact that she has already managed to reinvent herself in another state.”

“Your honor, this isn’t the trial yet,” Harper argued. “Nothing has been proven yet.”

“Ask anyone where she lived here who Mandy O’Donnell is, counselor,” Malloy remarked snidely. 

“Your honor!” Harper exclaimed. 

“That’s enough, counselors,” Judge Turcotte boomed, tapping his gavel smartly. “You watch yourself, Mr. Malloy.” He paused to glare down at the lawyers, before saying, “I’ll hear the defense.”

“We request high bail and electronic monitoring, your honor,” Harper said. “My client is the sole caretaker of her four-year-old daughter while her husband is in the hospital. Her daughter has only recently been recovered after being missing for four months, and she recently also was injured in a house fire as was my client. We ask that my client be released to care for her, as she now has the addition of seeing her mother arrested to traumatize her-”

“Your honor, whatever injuries Ms. Eames or her daughter suffered really isn’t relevant to the matter of bail,” Malloy interrupted. 

He had glanced at Alex when he spoke, and during that split-second of eye contact, she didn’t like what she saw. It was also clear that his use of the title ‘Ms.’ had been used purposefully. 

“Indeed,” Turcotte agreed. “Mr. Harper, stick to the matter at hand from now on. As for you Mr. Malloy, I do believe that the arrest could have been handled a lot more delicately.”

Malloy nodded, though it was clear to Alex that he didn’t really care about what the judge thought of his decision. 

“Your honor, the majority of the charges against my client are baseless accusations, and as for the rest, I will prove that my client did not commit any crime – she was merely doing what she must to find her daughter.”

“I thought the matter at hand was bail, your honor?” Malloy asked with false innocence. 

“I would just like to point out that my client has no reason to flee from these accusations-”

“No reason to flee?” Malloy argued, “She has every reason to-”

Turcotte brought his gavel down in three sharp taps. “Enough!” he roared. “This is a courtroom, not a high school debate team classroom,” he huffed irritably. “Mr. Harper, as for your argument that your client has no motive to flee, I’m going to have to agree with Mr. Malloy that the severity and number of charges does give her a motive.”

Neither Harper nor Turcotte noticed the haughty smirk Malloy directed at the defense table at that statement. Alex looked back at the judge and pretended that she didn’t either. There was no good in getting in a temper now.

“And as for your claim that your client needs to care for her daughter,” Turcotte said, looking to Alex for the first time. She knew by the look of loathing in his eyes what he was going to say next. “Judging by the crimes she is charged with, her daughter would be better off without her. I am ordering the defendant remanded to the custody of the state for the duration of the trial.”

He rapped his gavel again, but didn’t yet dismiss the court. “Mr. Harper, can you ask your client if there is anyone else who can care for her daughter? If not, I’d like a call placed to social services as soon as possible.”

“That won’t be necessary, your honor.”

Turcotte, Malloy, Harper, and Alex swung around to see who had spoken. Carolyn was standing in the gallery. Alex had been so focused on the events in the courtroom that she hadn’t noticed her friend sitting behind her. 

“And who are you?” Turcotte asked. 

“My name is Detective Carolyn Barek,” Carolyn replied. “The defendant’s sister and brother-in-law, Detective Mike Logan, and I have all been named as possible temporary guardians for Rebecca Goren if her parents are unable to care for her. Rebecca’s aunt and uncle are unable to leave New York State, and Detective Logan is being hospitalized at the present time, but I am able to take temporary custody of Rebecca.”

“You’ll need to show identification to the proper authorities, and proof of your legal guardianship,” Turcotte told her. When she nodded, he turned to the bailiff. “Take the defendant into custody,” he ordered. “Next case!” He rapped the gavel again. 

Alex turned to Carolyn. She wanted to thank her, but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, they held each other’s gaze until Alex was led from the room, heading, she knew, to a prison cell.


	32. Fault

“Mr. Harper!” 

The lawyer swung around to see who had called his name. “Detective… Barek, right?” he asked. 

“Yes,” Carolyn replied. 

“Detective, I’m sorry the judge didn’t rule in your friend’s favour, but there’s nothing I can do about it now.”

“I know,” Carolyn replied. “I want to know where they’re sending her.”

“California Institution for Women,” Harper replied. 

“Does it have a separate unit for cops?” Carolyn asked. 

“No,” Harper replied. 

“Then you can’t send her there,” Carolyn stated firmly. 

“I didn’t send her there,” Harper corrected irritably. “Judge Turcotte is a hard ass to begin with,” Harper broke off to glance around, as though worried the judge might hear him, “but he’s especially tough on people who come through his courtroom charged with crimes against children.”

“Well, get her sent somewhere else,” Carolyn snapped. 

“I can’t,” Harper said. 

Carolyn frowned. “You know, cops don’t fare well in prison. That’s why they make separate wings for them. Locked up with all those criminals with a beef against cops?”

“She’s being put in with the general population,” Harper said, sounding slightly anxious now that he knew where Carolyn was going with her questions. 

“You can’t let them put her in genpop!” Carolyn exclaimed. 

“They don’t have a separate ward for cops in the women’s prisons,” Harper apologized. “There just aren’t enough female cops locked up for them to make one. I could request that they put her in isolation, for her own safety-”

“You can’t keep her in isolation for the entire trial,” Carolyn argued. “People go crazy after a few days there – we’re talking about months!”

“I’ll issue a gag order preventing the guards from telling the prisoners that my client was a detective,” Harper asserted.

“It’s a prison, Harper,” Carolyn said. “They’ll find out.”

“I’m afraid that’s the best I can offer,” Harper replied. 

“Can’t you get her transferred?”

“To a men’s prison?” Harper asked. “Even if I won the motion, which I wouldn’t, do you really think she’d be better off there? I mean, even housed with other cops, they’re still criminals. She’s not exactly built well to defend herself against a group of men. They’d have the same defense training she does.”

“There’s nothing you can do?” Carolyn asked, the fight gone from her. 

“I’ll file the gag order,” Harper assured her. “I’ll order them not to mention her former occupation or the charges against her.”

“The charges against her?” Carolyn echoed. 

Harper laughed, but there was no humour in the sound. “She’s charged with crimes against children. Have you heard what they do to pedophiles in men’s prisons? Well in women’s prisons, they’re even more extreme.”

Carolyn visibly paled. “But… she didn’t hurt any kids.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Harper said. “Everyone in prison says they’re not guilty, so by default everyone is. She’s been charged with kidnapping and production of child pornography. People hear that, they think child molester. They assume the worst – holding children for abuse and documenting that abuse.”

“That’s not what happened!”

Harper shrugged. “That’s how they’ll see it. There’s a whole other system of justice within the prisons.”

“There’s really nothing we can do?” Carolyn asked faintly. 

“I don’t know if you’re a religious person, Detective Barek,” Harper said, “but after I file this motion, the only thing you can do is pray.”

 

Fernandez spotted Carolyn walking through the hospital front entrance and walked over briskly. She carried Rebecca, who had simply refused to stand up and walk ever since her mother was taken away. Mike had held her for a solid hour before her sobs had faded, and then she had simply gone limp. At first, they thought she had cried herself to sleep, but her eyes remained open. 

Carolyn winced at the sight of little Rebecca in Fernandez’s arms. She lay limp as a rag doll in the detective’s arms, her eyes open but glazed over. It was hospital policy to not allow any visitors on the psych ward, so she was unable to even be with Bobby. Mike had been in so much pain that he had been given morphine, and promptly passed out. Carolyn needed to go to court to claim custody of Rebecca and see if Alex would get bail, which left Rebecca with Fernandez. 

Though she had tried to engage the little girl, Fernandez had been unable to get Rebecca to even look at her. She was at a complete disadvantage, as she didn’t really know Rebecca at all. She couldn’t even imagine how the four-year-old was feeling; only recently being reunited with her family, being trapped in a fire-engulfed house, and then being left with a stranger after seeing her mother arrested – she must be devastated. 

On the other end of the lobby, Carol Kirk stood with Willow, asking after her husband. Willow clung tightly to her mother’s hand, but looked more relaxed than she had in a long time. When her mother knelt to speak to her softly, Willow smiled hesitantly and said something in return. Though she would certainly have a long road to complete recovery from her ordeal, she was freed from the men who held her captive – and freed from her silence. 

Carolyn looked between the two little girls, so similar in appearance, and yet so different. It was remarkable how in the span of only a few days Rebecca and Willow had experienced an almost complete role reversal. Willow now clung to her own mother’s hand, while Rebecca remained mute and parentless. 

“How did it go?” Fernandez asked. Carolyn shook her head in response. “She’s not getting bail?”

“No,” Carolyn sighed. “How have things been here?”

“Logan’s still asleep, they won’t tell me anything about Goren, and Rebecca hasn’t really felt up to talking yet,” Fernandez replied. “Maybe you want to talk to Carolyn?” she asked, addressing the listless child in her arms. “I bet Carolyn would like to talk to you.”

Both women crouched down as Fernandez lowered Rebecca to the ground. Her feet were under her but she made no move to stand up. The only acknowledgement she gave to her surroundings was flopping towards Carolyn and wrapping her arms around her neck. Carolyn quickly swept her up, as Rebecca allowed her legs to go limp. 

“Oh sweetie,” Carolyn whispered around the lump in her throat. “Rebecca, honey, it’s going to be okay.” She stood up and looked around, feeling suddenly lost. She had no idea where to go, or what to do. She had never felt so helpless in her entire life. 

“Your Mom really wants to see you, Rebecca,” Carolyn whispered. “She really wants to, but she can’t right now. So I’m going to be taking care of you for a while. That could be fun, right honey?”

For all the response she received, Carolyn might have not have even spoken. 

The two detectives left the hospital, Carolyn with Rebecca in her arms. On the way out, Carol turned and saw them. Her eyes locked with Carolyn’s for just a moment, but the uncomfortable silence and undisplayed emotion between them seemed to be an almost physical presence. 

Tentatively, Willow lifted her hand in a tiny wave. Before she could say anything to them, Carol had whisked her away. The moment broken, Carolyn and Fernandez continued on their way. 

 

“Strip,” the guard commanded. 

Alex stood in the room with a group of women who had been transferred to the prison with her. Some began to remove their clothes as though they couldn’t care less. Perhaps they had already been through this before. One woman seemed to be attempting to undress in a provocative manner, but the guards either didn’t notice, or pretended not to. A few, like Alex herself, hesitated and looked around as though hoping to escape somehow. 

“Let’s go!” the second guard barked. 

All the other prisoners began to tug at their clothing at his command. Alex pulled off her own shirt, trying not to shiver at the cold, and thinking all the while that here, she was no different than these other women. She was just another prisoner. 

“Line up,” the first guard instructed, sounding bored. 

The women hastily spread into a line, some on tip-toe to try and avoid pressing any more flesh into the cold stone floor than they had to. The woman who had been trying to get the guards’ attention had marched straight to the front, and was making no attempt to cover herself. Rather, she attempted as best she could to flaunt her body to the guards.

Alex could see that two women in front of her staring brazenly at the others in line. A few were attempting to get as much modesty as possible using the clothes they held. Some simply stood looking subdued, staring at the floor. One tapped her foot impatiently, while another was muttering under her breath while looking extremely pissed off. 

Alex herself was observing all of the others as an outsider looking in. She may be in the same position as the rest of these women, but she was different from them. _I’m not a criminal,_ she thought to herself. _I’m not like them at all. Right?_

 

Carolyn woke up with a start and stifled a scream. A pair of eyes were watching her over the edge of the couch where she was sleeping. “Rebecca?” she asked, blinking. 

“I want Mommy and Daddy.”

“I know, honey,” Carolyn said, sitting up. 

“I _want_ them.” She sniffled, tears in her eyes. 

Carolyn reached down and pulled Rebecca into her lap. She felt like a traitor. Bobby and Alex had been searching for their little girl for so long, and had been through so much to get her back. And where were they now? Locked up – and Carolyn was the one who held their child. 

“I’m sorry,” Carolyn whispered, rocking Rebecca. 

The little girl began to cry in earnest. “Please, Auntie Carolyn?” she begged between sobs. “I’m sorry I was bad! I’ll be better I swear. I just want Mommy and Daddy!”

“You weren’t bad, Becky,” Carolyn assured her, feeling as though each of the little girl’s sobs was ripping at her heart. “Your parents love you; they want to be here. They just can’t.”

“But why?”

Carolyn paused, trying to think of an explanation that a four-year-old could understand. In the end, she repeated, “It’s not your fault, honey. It’s not your fault.”


	33. Upside Down

Alex stuck her hands through the space in the cell door to have them remove the handcuffs. _Amazing_ , she thought, _how I’m already used to this_. Then again, perhaps she was just numb and accepting. She had been willing to risk anything to find Rebecca again. Even this. At least she knew that her daughter was safe again. Still, she wished she could see her, and hold her in her arms. 

Alex turned around to see her cellmate standing in the center of their designated space, a malicious smile on her face. The other women nearly doubled Alex in size. She was tapping her leg with a fist whose knuckles were covered in scars, telling Alex that she was no stranger to fights. 

“Hello, detective,” her cellmate greeted, her grin widening. Alex glanced behind her, but the guards had already left. In the neighboring cells, the word was repeated: “Detective? _Detective. Policía._ ”

“Your buddies have gone,” the woman said, re-stating what Alex already knew. “Then again,” the prisoner added, “maybe they’re not your buddies if they left you in here with me.”

“I don’t want any trouble,” Alex told her as calmly as possible. 

“Hear that?” her cellmate called so that others could hear. “She don’t want no trouble!”

Her call was greeted by resounding laughter. “Well, detective,” the woman said. “You’re already in trouble now, aren’t you?”

Alex ducked out of the way of the first punch. But there wasn’t very much room to maneuver in the cell. The other prisoner, whose name Alex didn’t even know, lumbered towards her, ready to strike. She was cheered on by the whoops of the other prisoners who could see into the cell. The sound was contagious, spreading down the cell block. 

Alex was shoved into the wall by the other woman, to resounding cheers of other inmates looking in for entertainment. Then the larger woman threw herself down and punched the smaller in the face. And Alex probably could have given a decent fight. She could have yelled for the guards. But instead she went limp, taking blow after blow to the resounding chant of “Fight, fight, fight!” and insults being hurled at her alongside the fists. She supposed, on some level, that she deserved to be punished. She had failed her family; she had been a terrible mother. She had been frightened of failing her little girl ever since she was born, and these past few months had proven her misgivings true. 

By the time the guards pried the inmate off of her smaller cellmate, the cell block was filled with noise from the other inmates whooping, banging, and causing a general upheaval. Two guards hauled the inmate off to isolation while a third crouched by the inmate she had been hitting. “She’s going to need to be transferred to medical,” he stated. 

“No kidding,” another guard added. “Her face looks like something you’d find in a dumpster. What’d she do to piss off Huge Helen anyway?”

“That girl was one of yours, CO,” an inmate answered for him. 

The guard turned back to look at the prisoner, who remained unmoving on the ground. He hadn’t recognized her from all the damage to her face, but now he remembered. She was the woman who had been brought in for charges of kidnapping and child pornography. 

“She still breathing, Smyth?” he asked. 

“Yeah,” Smyth replied. 

“Shame,” the guard spat. “Should’ve let Huge Helen finish the job.”

 

“What happened?” Carolyn demanded. 

Harper, Alex’s lawyer, spun around to face her. “She was attacked by her cellmate.”

“She’s only been in lockup for two hours!” Carolyn exclaimed. “How could this happen?”

“Word travels fast,” Harper muttered. “Someone must have named her as a detective before the gag order reached the prison.”

“I bet they went to a lot of trouble to conceal it,” Carolyn muttered sarcastically. “Do you know how severely she was injured?”

“She’s gone into surgery to repair a broken jaw,” Harper replied. “She was banged up pretty badly but as I understand it her jaw was the only thing broken.”

“This time,” Carolyn muttered darkly, sinking into a chair. It felt as though she had spent days sitting in a chair in a hospital. 

“This attack should be enough to get her separated from the general population,” Harper offered. 

“Good,” Carolyn replied vaguely, not really listening. Harper lowered himself into the chair next to the detective, trying to come up with something comforting to say. 

Hoping he wasn’t crossing a boundary with her, Harper began hesitantly, “I heard that your, uh, that a friend of yours is in this hospital.” As a lawyer, Harper was rarely lost for words, but that was in a debate. The courtroom was his element, not the hospital waiting room. 

Carolyn glanced up sharply, trying to decipher any hint of condescension from the lawyer’s words. She detected only sincerity. “Yes,” she replied slowly. 

“If you wanted to stop in and visit, I could let you know when she’s out of surgery.”

“I can wait here,” Carolyn said quickly. “You can go; I’m sure you have other things to do.”

“Nothing I can’t do right here,” Harper said, pulling out his laptop. 

“Okay,” Carolyn replied. “Thanks.”

 _An empathetic lawyer,_ Carolyn thought as she walked away. _The world really has turned upside down._

 

“So this is the guy,” Bole commented, looking down at the photograph. 

“Jonas Slaughter,” Fernandez confirmed. She had joined the FBI agents at the police station. She had wanted to help with the kidnapping case, and she really felt completely useless in Carolyn and Rebecca’s company anyway. Here she could at least do something. 

“So the motive was revenge after all,” Fisher said. “Then why the other girls?”

“Probably just to throw us off,” Thompson theorized. “And as for Willow Kirk, she might have even been taken in order to get the lead detectives thrown off the case.”

“He probably thought it would slow down the investigation to get us caught up,” Langley agreed. “And then what? He got away with taking two girls so he went for more?”

“No one can argue that the cases are connected, so I don’t think we need motive on the other girls after Rebecca, or even Willow,” Thompson said, thinking ahead to the trial. “We have plenty to take him in; we just need to find him. Any luck finding other property?”

“No,” Bole sighed, looking back at his screen. “Do you think he’s still here? Or did he go back to New York?”

“I doubt he went back to New York. He’s probably on the run,” Fisher said. 

“He has Emma with him though,” Langley commented. “She should slow him down, and make him more recognizable.”

“Have we gotten any leads on the Amber Alert?” Thompson asked. 

“Plenty,” Bole replied, “But none of them panned out. We haven’t been able to track them.”

“I’ve been going over the original case,” Fernandez said thoughtfully, “And the son who was shot on the courthouse steps – his wife was pregnant at the time. Do you think Slaughter would go to his grandson? He’s the only other family he has.”

“It’s worth a shot,” Thompson mused. 

“On it,” Bole said, already searching the database. “It seems that the wife and young Slaughter also relocated with Slaughter senior. They live about half an hour from here.”

“Twenty minutes with me driving,” Fernandez offered. 

“If he went to their house originally, he’s probably long gone by now though,” Fisher commented. 

Fernandez scowled at him. “They still might have information on where he could be.”

 

“Did you hear?” Mike asked Carolyn excitedly, sounding remarkably childlike in his enthusiasm. “I should be able to kick this place soon!”

“That’s great news,” Carolyn replied, smiling. She leaned over the bed to kiss his cheek, only to have him turn his head, brush his lips against hers, then pull her in closer. Both hands drew her near, and she willingly leaned in, coming to rest next to him on the bed. 

“I’ve missed you,” he said after. 

“I’m sorry,” Carolyn sighed. “With everything going on I haven’t been here as much as I should and-”

“Shh,” Mike interrupted. “I wasn’t trying to make you feel guilty. I know you’ve been taking care of Rebecca ever since what happened with Bobby and Alex…” He let his sentence trail off, frowning. “Where is Rebecca, anyway?”

“I left her in the daycare here at the hospital,” Carolyn explained. “I should probably go back and get her soon. She’s been doing better, but I still don’t like leaving her with strangers.”

“Just bring her up next time,” Mike said. He paused, reading the expression on Carolyn’s face. “What happened?” he asked. 

“I didn’t bring her with me because Alex was just checked in, and I didn’t want Rebecca to worry. She’s already been through enough.”

“Alex was checked in?” Mike asked anxiously. “What happened?”

“She was attacked by her cellmate,” Carolyn replied wearily. “Surgery for a broken jaw, but that’s the only thing her lawyer was told so far.” Carolyn didn’t bother to mention that their friend had also been beaten. Mike had probably guessed as much anyway. 

“Attacked for what?” he asked.

“Being a cop, I’d assume,” Carolyn theorized. 

“This mess keeps getting better and better,” Mike muttered. “Damn that Slaughter! He got away with murder, why couldn’t he just leave well enough alone?”

Carolyn just shook her head in response. She had read the old case file, and never would have guessed that the man would have the motivation or forethought to plot such a thorough revenge. 

Changing the subject, Mike asked, “Have you heard anything about Bobby?”

Carolyn shook her head again. “No,” she added. “They won’t let me see him.”

“He’s not crazy,” Mike snapped. 

“I know.”

“I wish they knew.”

“Me too.”

“Carolyn?”

“Yes?”

“How the hell did things get to be so bad?”

“I don’t know, Mike,” Carolyn sighed. “It’s an unanswerable question. Trace it back far enough and you could say it’s because the four of us became cops. Of course, if we hadn’t, there would have been no Rebecca to kidnap, and we probably wouldn’t even know each other.”

“That question was rhetorical,” Mike said, smiling slightly. Her short philosophical monologue reminded him of their early days as partners. 

“I know,” Carolyn replied. “But it made you smile.”

They held each other’s gaze for a moment longer before the moment was broken. “I should go and get Rebecca,” Carolyn said, standing. “I’m glad to see you’re getting better.”

“Thanks,” Mike replied. “Hopefully I’ll see you somewhere other than a hospital soon.”

“Count on it.”


	34. Altered Path

Mike rubbed his now well healing wound absentmindedly as he waited for the prisoners to be led in. He had been wanting to speak to Alex for some time, because there was still something that was bothering him. Why had they not returned Willow to her parents? Maybe they didn’t know who she was, but it seemed so unlike Bobby and Alex to not even try to figure out where she came from. Or at least simply contact the local police. They wouldn’t have had to break cover – it would have been easy to simply explain that they were suspicious of her origin. There must be something Mike was missing. 

This was the reason he was waiting to speak to her now. Both of them were recovered from their respective surgeries long enough to be released from the hospital – Alex in her own separate cell this time. 

At first, Mike almost told the unfortunate woman who sat on the other side of the glass that she was at the wrong place. Then he realized that this was indeed the person he had been waiting for. “Alex,” he gasped. 

Her hair hung limp around her almost unrecognizable face. Black turned sharply into blonde where her hair had started growing back in. She was looking at him through swollen eyelids. Both her eyes were surrounded by dark shadows, from the blows she had received and lack of sleep. Her eyes seemed sunken down into her face, almost hidden by the swollen, blackened lids and dark fringe hanging across her face. Purple/green bruises in multiple stages of healing marked different places along the visible skin of her arms and face. Her prison-issue jumpsuit hung off of her thin frame. Naturally a rather small woman, she now looked as though the slightest wind could have knocked her to the ground. Mike thought that it was probably a small miracle that she had been able to walk from the cell to here. 

Mike picked up the phone receiver without looking at it; his eyes were still taking in the state of his friend. She did the same on her end. 

“Alex,” he repeated. All the questions he had been meaning to ask slipped out of his mind. She made no response. “Alex,” Mike tried again. “They haven’t attacked you again, right?”

She shook her head. 

Mike nodded absentmindedly. “I wanted to ask you some questions,” he said. “We’re trying to figure out how to get you out of here, but first I want to make sure we have all of the facts.”

She made no response, but stared intently at him. Her eyes almost seemed to be pleading with him, like she wanted to ask an important question herself. “What is it?” Mike asked. 

She didn’t answer, but instead trailed a hand over her jaw while making a small, unintelligible sound at the back of her throat. “Oh my God,” Mike muttered, realization dawning on him. Her mouth was wired shut. This was the best way to heal a broken jaw, but it left her unable to communicate. 

“Guard!” Mike called, getting the attention of the correctional officer standing on his side. “She just had jaw surgery recently and can’t speak,” he explained, indicating Alex on the other side of the glass, “Can you give her a pencil and paper so she can write something?”

“The prisoners aren’t permitted to have sharp objects,” the guard replied in a bored tone, probably having stated this on multiple occasions. 

“A pencil is hardly a sharp object,” Mike scoffed. 

“Anything that can break the skin is a sharp object,” the guard repeated in the same bored tone. 

“Make it a dull pencil then,” Mike replied, annoyed. “And take it away before you send her back to her cell.”

“That would be against prison policy.”

Mike turned away angrily, allowing his eyes to settle back on Alex. It was simple enough to figure out what she was asking. 

“Rebecca’s doing okay,” Mike assured her. “She misses you of course, but she’s starting to do better again.” He thought it best to leave out the part that the small girl barley slept for fear of nightmares – nightmares that caused her to wake up screaming every night. “Bobby’s off the psych hold now. They finally took the restraints off, but it doesn’t really matter yet at this point because he’s still sedated most of the time. I haven’t been able to bring Rebecca in to see him yet because they won’t let kids in the ICU. I think it’ll help her to be able to see the two of you again.” 

At this, Alex shook her head rapidly. She dropped the phone to cover her face with both hands, still shaking her head. There was no way she wanted her baby to see her like this. 

“Okay,” Mike assured her, realizing. “Okay!” He struck the glass with a flat palm to get her attention. “I won’t bring Becky here,” he assured her when she picked up the phone. Alex nodded gratefully. “But I do need to ask you about Willow.”

Alex visibly stiffened on the other side of the glass. She clenched the receiver in her hand, then nodded. 

How she was supposed to answer, Mike wasn’t sure. He tried to think of a way to ask for the information he desired in a yes or no fashion. “Did you know who Willow was before… before the arrests were made?” Mike asked. 

Alex shook her head. Her eyebrows drew together in frustration. She needed to tell Mike. She had fully intended to tell someone about this information as soon as she left Bobby at the hospital. But then she had been arrested, and in the commotion of being arraigned and remanded, it had slipped her mind until it was too late. Being in isolation, she hadn’t even been able to write yet. 

“Did you even consider bringing her to the police?” Mike asked, a note of sharpness entering his voice. 

Alex nodded earnestly, making another sound that was unable to turn into the words she wanted to say. 

“Did you ever go?” Mike asked. 

Alex eyes darted from side to side, then she banged her fist on the table in frustration. 

“It’s a yes or no question,” Mike reminded her. “If you went to the police it would probably help your case.”

BANG! Alex smashed her hand into the table again. Then, a thought occurring to her, she leaned forward, tracing her fingers over the glass. 

At first, Mike was at a loss, but then he realized what she was doing. “Wait, start over,” he instructed. She began again, tracing her finger slowly and purposefully across the glass. “T,” Mike stated. “T, o…” They continued in this fashion until she finished the word. “Townsend,” Mike stated aloud. “As in Angus Townsend? They have him in custody Alex; but what does he have to do with Willow?” 

Now she was shaking her head no. Mike was starting to get as frustrated as she was. “No what?” he demanded. 

She began writing out the letters again. “Townsend, yes, Angus Townsend,” Mike repeated irritably. She shook her head rapidly. “Not Angus Townsend… A different Townsend?” Alex bobbed her head. 

“Another Townsend involved in the case?” Mike asked. “One who had something to do with Willow?” Alex nodded eagerly. “Okay,” Mike said. “We’ll check for another Townsend.” 

Alex sat back onto the chair, finally relaxing slightly. 

After Mike left, Alex walked back to her cell thinking of the day she and Bobby had gotten Willow…

_“What are we supposed to do now?” Alex asked._

_“I don’t know,” Bobby said heavily._

Alex pulled her hands back into the cell and rubbed the back of her neck, replaying the entire conversation in her mind. They had been trying to make the best choice out of only bad choices. 

_“I am not okay with this.”_

_“Neither am I. But it’s all we’ve got.”_

It wasn’t until later that night that they had discussed their earlier conversation. Alex lay down and pulled the thin blanket over herself, remembering. 

_Alex pulled the blanket over herself. She and Bobby lay with their backs to each other. “Bobby?” she asked. He made a sound to show he heard. “We can’t do this; can we?”_

_She felt him roll over, and she turned to face him. “We have to get Willow back to her parents.”_

_“I know.”_

_“It might mean that we lose Rebecca.”_

_“I know.”_

_Alex squeezed her eyes shut tight, forcing her fears back. “We have no right to get our daughter back if it means stealing someone else’s,” Bobby whispered into her hair._

_“We aren’t hurting her,” Alex repeated her same argument. “We’ll keep her safe. It’s to try and save all of them…”_

_“A crime committed with the best intentions is still a crime,” Bobby reminded her._

_“I know that,” she snapped irritably. “I just wanted her to be Rebecca… I want our baby back!” She swiped a hand over her eyes, attempting to halt the tears that threatened to fall._

_“We’ll find a way,” Bobby whispered._

Alex had stayed with Willow that morning while Bobby went to the police station. How guilty she now felt for the anger she had for the girl at the time. She was constantly fighting it back, all because Willow wasn’t the child she was hoping for. 

But then Bobby had returned, and the information he brought changed their plan. It was that morning that had lead them down the path to where they were now. 

 

Bobby lay staring at the ceiling, lost in thought. He had plenty of time to think now, when he was awake anyway. He lifted his arms up as though to conduct, and then dropped them back down, simply grateful for the freedom of movement. 

Medical doctors and psychiatrists breezed in and out of his room on occasion, but mostly he was alone. He had had plenty of time to think, and reflect on the decisions he and Alex had made ever since the day Rebecca had been taken. 

Thoughts of Alex and what she must be going through now caused him to clench his fists in anger. She wouldn’t have had to go to the extremes she had if her hand hadn’t been forced. In any case, she wasn’t the corrupt cop…

_“It’s just that my wife and I have been hoping for a child for so long,” Bobby explained. “We want to make sure that nothing could jeopardize Willow’s adoption.”_

_“Of course,” the officer replied. “If you could just wait here, Mr. O’Donnell.” The officer indicated a chair, which Bobby sank into._

_The officer closed himself into the captain’s office. Bobby frowned at this sight. Surely an anxious new parent questioning his new daughter’s records wasn’t something to see the captain about?_

_Bobby looked at the now closed door, noticing the words proclaiming: W. Townsend, Captain. Bobby’s concern deepened. Townsend… One of the men had mentioned an Angus Townsend at the last meeting… could this man be related? Did he know something about the case? Bobby was grateful no one else could hear the blood pounding in his ears as his heart rate increased. They couldn’t get found out now…_

_“Mr. O’Donnell.” The officer left the captain’s office, and was approaching Bobby, who stood up. “As far as we can tell, everything seems to be in order. We’ll have a look into it and confirm though, if you’re really concerned.”_

_“That’s alright,” Bobby replied, still suspicious. “I was just worried; we don’t want to lose our little girl because the adoption agency messed up. We’re probably just concerned about nothing.”_

_“Quite understandable,” the officer replied. He and Bobby bid each other good day, and parted. Bobby circled back before exiting, following the officer back towards the captain’s office. The door remained ajar just enough for him to catch the end of their conversation._

_“Do you think he knew?” Townsend demanded._

_“I don’t think so,” the officer replied. “He didn’t ask about any kidnapping stuff; just about the adoption agency. It’s lucky he came to this station.”_

_The captain snorted derisively. “You think he’d really rely on luck? We have the girl’s missing person report flagged, so it’ll get reported to me if someone found her.”_

_“Still, even if you knew; what could you do about it?”_

_“Show up to inform everyone involved that I will ensure the safe return of the girl to her parents. She goes home with the O’Donnells for one more night; and I supposedly contact authorities to get her parents here.”_

_“And then return her to her parents?” the officer asked, confused. “That still doesn’t frame them for kidnapping.”_

_“Right,” Townsend confirmed. “If they get too suspicious for the kidnapping frame-up to work out; we frame them for murder.”_

_Bobby slunk away before anyone would notice him eavesdropping, not waiting to hear the response. This changed everything._

Back in her cell, Alex heard Bobby’s words echoing in her mind. 

_“We can’t bring Willow back. There’s nowhere we can take her that they won’t find her. We don’t have enough to prove conspiracy yet.”_

_“Conspiracy for what?” Alex asked._

_“Someone wants to frame us for kidnapping.”_

_“Who?” “Alex demanded. “Why?”_

_“I have no idea,” Bobby muttered darkly. “But we have to keep her with us.”_

_“I thought we agreed that-”_

_“If they suspect that we know anything,” Bobby interrupted, “They’re going to kill her.”_

To try and bring Willow back would have risked everything. Losing all of the other girls, losing Rebecca, even losing Willow. Who knows if Townsend would have brought others as back up? They might not have been able to protect the little girl they did have; and would risk losing everything at the same time. 

There really wasn’t any other choice.


	35. Steamrolled

“Mrs. Waverly,” Henderson sighed, “We really need you cooperation with this investigation.”

“I will have no part in these baseless accusations,” the woman spat angrily. “My husband is innocent!”

“He admitted his involvement to another detective,” Branch reminded her. “We’ve found other evidence against him.”

“Lies!” Mrs. Waverly cried. “He would never be involved with criminals of that sort. Never!”

“Criminals of that sort?” Branch asked. “You mean pedophiles?” he asked bluntly, losing patience with the woman’s continued belief in her husband’s innocence. 

Mrs. Waverly’s face flushed, whether with indignation or shame at such a word being used the detectives weren’t sure. “Grant is _not_ a…”

“Pedophile,” Henderson supplied. This time, Mrs. Waverly’s expression was clearly one of anger. 

“Absolutely not.”

“How can you be so sure?” Branch asked. 

“I would certainly know,” she blustered. 

“So he was never inappropriate with your daughters?” Henderson asked. 

“Never!” she snapped. “My girls love their father, he would never...”

“Your girls,” Branch interrupted, flipping open a file, “Michelle and Sarah. They’re six and nine?”

“Yes,” Mrs. Waverly answered stiffly. 

“That’s about the same age as Hailey Green. You know what her father has been accused of.”

“I highly doubt that he did the things you all have been saying,” Mrs. Waverly said, in an almost admonishing tone. 

“So you know him?” Branch stated. Ms. Waverly nodded. “Through your husband?”

“Yes,” Mrs. Waverly replied cautiously. 

“The two of them bonded over their shared pedophilic fantasies-”

“That’s disgusting!” the woman screeched, jumping up from her seat. “You’re sick!”

“We have proof,” Henderson informed her. “Photographs of his daughter from a website; one that your husband has accessed on multiple occasions.”

“I don’t believe that,” she repeated. 

Henderson and Branch exchanged glances. They didn’t like having to put this woman through the ringer, but desperate times called for desperate measures. If she knew anything about her former neighbor, Jonas Slaughter, they needed to know. 

“I don’t believe what you’re telling me, and I am done talking!” The woman stormed out of the room before the detectives could finish questioning her. 

“That went swimmingly,” Branch commented dryly. 

“That woman is being completely unreasonable,” Henderson fumed. 

“No one would want to admit that someone they’ve shared a bed with for the past decade is a pedophile,” Branch reasoned. 

“Well, if she doesn’t believe he did it, she could have at least helped us with Slaughter. He orchestrated the kidnapping of six little girls!”

“But admitting his guilt would be like admitting there’s a possibility that her husband is guilty.”

“Whose side are you on?” Henderson snapped irritably. 

Branch was silent for a moment, giving his partner a chance to get a grip on his emotions. “It doesn’t matter,” he replied. “We can’t force her to tell us anything. We have to wait for her to accept the truth in her own time.”

“We don’t have time,” Henderson mumbled, rubbing his fingers over his closed eyes. “Nothing turned up at the daughter-in-law’s place, we have no trace of where this guy went…”

“We’ll find him,” Branch stated firmly. “He doesn’t get to get away with this.”

 

“I can’t believe this,” Mike told Carolyn over the phone. 

“Believe what?” she asked. 

“Our suspect was shot and killed last night,” he informed her. 

“Perfect,” Carolyn sighed. “How’d that happen?”

“You’ll never guess!” Fernandez piped up, loud enough for Carolyn to hear. Mike put his phone on speaker, allowing his partner to tell her without her practically shouting in his ear. “It seems that Mr. William Townsend shot himself in his own home last night.”

“How lucky for Slaughter that the guy chooses tonight,” Carolyn commented dryly. 

“Yes, well, we can’t question him with regard to Slaughter anymore,” Mike said.  
“But wait,” Fernandez interrupted. “Here’s the kicker – there was so much sedative in the guy’s system that there’s no way he would have been conscious to shoot himself.”

“He’s a talented fellow,” Mike added sarcastically, “shooting himself while passed out.”

“No kidding,” Carolyn agreed. “Well, how about if I meet you down at the morgue in about half an hour?” she asked. “We should try and investigate this case. It has something to do with the big picture.”

“I think this big picture is a jigsaw puzzle,” Mike sighed. “One that only Slaughter has all the pieces to.”

 

Bobby was finally released from the hospital, having been declared no longer a danger to himself or others, and medically fit enough to be discharged. The first thing he saw was the two detectives who had arrested Alex coming over to him. 

“Oh no,” he said. 

“We you to come with us for questioning,” one of them stated. 

“I need to see my wife,” he countered. “I’m not going anywhere until I see my wife.”

“You don’t really have a choice.”

Bobby turned to see that the detective’s hand rested on the cuffs of his belt. “I’m under arrest?” he asked. 

“Or you could come willingly,” the other said. “Just come in for questioning, and then we’ll let you go see your wife. Remember, if you’re arrested you’ll be delayed even longer.”

Bobby rubbed a hand over his forehead, weighing his options. But what they said was true. If he was arrested, he wouldn’t see Alex until at least the next day. “Fine,” he said angrily. “But you’d better make it quick.” 

 

“Detective Goren,” Malloy said as he walked in. “Or do you prefer Mr. O’Donnell?”

Bobby just glared at him, not bothering to answer. “I don’t have time for games,” he said. “Just get to the point. I need to see my wife.”

“Ah, yes,” Malloy responded, sitting down across from Bobby. “That’s a matter I’d like to discus with you.”

Bobby didn’t answer. He stared at Malloy, waiting for him to break eye contact. 

“I’m here to make a deal, Mr. Goren,” Malloy said. 

“Really?” Bobby asked. The two still had their gazes locked, scarcely blinking. “I thought I was just to be brought in for questioning.”

Malloy grinned. “I think we know all about everything,” he said. “I know you’d just cover for your wife anyway. That’s why I’m willing to talk deal, right away.”

Again, Bobby didn’t answer. He remained glowering at Malloy, waiting. 

“We are prepared to offer you immunity in exchange for your testimony.”

Bobby dropped his scowl, a look of incretion spreading across his features. He knew he wasn’t guilty… but to be offered immunity on all of the charges they could possibly bring against him? And after they had thrown the book at Alex? He wasn’t expecting this at all. But all he said was, “You know I can’t testify about anything she told me.”

“You can’t report anything she said,” Malloy replied. “But you can talk about what she did.”

“No,” Bobby replied. 

“Really,” Malloy said with a sardonic grin. 

“I’m not listening to this.” Bobby shoved his chair away and stood, ready to leave. He was forced to grip the table instead, the other hand moving along his chest. He waited for the dizziness and nausea to pass before turning back to Malloy. “It’s not going to happen.”

He walked out. “You’ll want to think this over carefully!” Malloy called after him. Bobby slammed the door and left. 

 

Bobby trailed behind Harper, trying not to look like he was bending the rules at all. Harper calmly signed in, handing the log book back to the officer. The officer cleared his throat and indicated Bobby. 

“I have the right to bring in associated from my firm,” Harper stated calmly. 

The guard shrugged, and marked the book before opening the gate. Once they were inside, Bobby breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you,” he said. 

“No problem,” Harper replied. “I know that guards won’t let my client-” he broke off, looking embarrassed, “Sorry,” he said. “I mean, your wife, have anything to write with, and you won’t be able to communicate with her any other way.”

“Why are you helping us?” Bobby asked. Not that he wasn’t grateful, but he was extremely curious as to why the lawyer would put himself at risk by helping them. 

Harper sighed. “Believe it or not detective; I didn’t become a lawyer for the money. I actually became a defense attorney to keep innocent people out of prison. Maybe it was naïve of me. I know that plenty of my clients are guilty, maybe even most of them, but I keep at it for the ones who are innocent. And Eames… she just doesn’t strike me as guilty. It just seems as though Malloy has completely steamrolled her. I know it’s his job, but he seems particularly determined to bring charges against her.”

“He’s not normally this zealous?” Bobby asked, surprised by Harper’s monologue but choosing not to comment on it. 

“No…” Harper trailed off thoughtfully. “He’s a good ADA; he always plays hardball… but I don’t know. He really seems to have it in for her personally.”

Bobby stored this information for later as he paced the small attorney/client room, waiting for Alex. “Thank you,” he said to Harper again. Harper nodded. 

Then the door opened, and Alex was led in. It took all of Bobby’s self-control to wait while the guard removed her cuffs and left again. The second he was out of sight, the two rushed towards each other. Bobby lifted her feather-light frame off of the ground, his arms wrapped around her, vice-like. Her arms snaked around his neck, her face pressed against his chest breathing in the scent of him, but to the side, away from the long line running down his breastbone. 

He had all but forgotten the pain in his chest. Though he longed to smother her in kisses, he was conscious of her still healing jaw, and contented himself with pressing his lips to the top of her head. They remained wrapped in each other’s embrace for a long moment, the world seeming to fade away around them. Finally, they stepped back in order to drink in the sight of each other. Bobby ran his hand over her, feeling each bone jutting out under his fingertips. He had lost weight too, but perhaps being larger to begin with made it not look so shocking on him as it did her. 

“Alex,” he whispered. A small sigh escaped her, and she leaned into him again. He held her for another minute, running one hand over her hair again and again, convincing himself that she was okay. 

They finally turned back to the table in the center of the room, where Harper had the decency to have turned his back and begin sorting through an already clean briefcase. 

Bobby and Alex sat down at the table with him. Harper slid a notebook and pen across the table to his client, ready to begin. First he discussed the fact that they would soon be proceeding to trial, and discussing the motions that had been filed already. “You said Malloy talked to you, Goren?” Harper asked. 

Bobby nodded, the anger returning. “He offered me immunity in exchange for my testimony against Alex.” He turned to her, and said earnestly, “It’ll never happen, Alex. I won’t do it.”

She grabbed the pen and scribbled two words. “No!” Bobby snapped. “I won’t!” He slapped his hand over her instruction. _Do it_. She sighed impatiently and went to write on the notebook again. “No,” Bobby repeated. He moved his hands to cover the page, not wanting any argument. “No, Alex. I won’t.”

She continued to try and find a space to write, with him constantly moving his hands to block her. They continued this silent, juvenile argument until Alex slammed her other hand into the table, glaring at him. Harper, embarrassed, had turned away again, and was reading graffiti on the walls. Bobby slowly withdrew his hands, allowing her to pull the notebook sharply towards herself irritably. 

“Oh, Alex,” he said upon seeing what she’d written. _Rebecca needs at least one of her parents_. “I can’t do this to you. You’re not guilty of this, Alex. We’ll both go home together; raise Rebecca together.” Alex bent down to write again. _You’d better do this, Bobby, or I swear I will never forgive you_. “Come on, Alex,” he pleaded. She met his gaze, more intimidating than Malloy had been by a long shot. 

Harper cleared his throat to get their attention, breaking the intensity of the moment. “Don’t forget,” he told Bobby, “you may have to answer Malloy’s questions, but there’s still cross examination. We’ll turn your testimony around.”

Bobby considered this, remembering Harper’s determination to keep innocent people out of prison. He turned back to his wife, meeting her determined gaze. “Fine,” he muttered. “I’ll do it.” He turned back to the lawyer, his gaze hard. “But you had damn well better make sure you convince the jury that she’s innocent.”


	36. The End of the Road

“Daddy!”

It had been too long. Rebecca was lifted off of the ground into her father’s embrace, finally relaxing against him. “Rebecca,” Bobby whispered into her hair. It had all been worth it. Having her with name now made everything he had gone through in the past few months worthwhile. 

“Daddy.” Rebecca leaned back to look at him. “When’s Mommy coming back?”

“I don’t know, baby.”

He felt as though a lead weight dropped into the pit of his stomach at that innocent question. He could not loose Alex. She had sacrificed too much. She deserved this moment too. She had to come home with them.

“We’re going to try and get Mommy back,” he told her. “We’re going to get her back.”

“When?” she asked. “When is Mommy coming home?”

“I don’t know, sweetheart. But we will get her back.”

 

“So it was definitely murder,” Carolyn said to Mike. 

“Sure,” Mike replied. “But we already knew that. Sheriff Townsend couldn’t possibly have pulled the trigger with that much sedative in his system.”

“Slaughter was likely behind it,” Carolyn continued. “But they haven’t found anything to prove it yet. In any case, it doesn’t help us find him.”

“I’d hoped they might find something at his place,” Mike sighed. 

Carolyn also shook her head, crestfallen. “We’ve got nothing.” She pushed open the door to the motel room, the first trace of a smile all day turning up her lips. Rebecca was snuggled up in her father’s lap, both of them fast asleep. 

 

“Detectives?”

Branch stood up and went over to the clearly distressed woman. She handed him a small stack of photographs, a small sob catching in her throat. “You were right,” she said.

Branch lead her to a conference room, Henderson following. After they got her sitting down with a cup of water, Branch glanced down at what she had handed him. 

“That’s my Shelly,” Mrs. Waverly explained, her eyes welling up with tears. “Sarah’s in there too.” She took a deep breath, steadying herself. “The blanket in the pictures…” she trailed off, and cleared her throat before continuing. “That bastard took these in our bedroom,” she spat. 

Branch reached over to grasp her arm in comfort. She cried quietly for a moment, before collecting herself again. “You’ll make sure he goes to prison?” she asked harshly. “He’ll never come near my girls again?”

“Even if he gets out,” Henderson assured her, “the judge will be sure to grant restraining orders, forbidding him from coming near you or the girls.”

She nodded firmly, looking down at the table. “Okay,” she said to herself. “Okay.” She looked up again, meeting Branch’s eyes. “Grant and I-” here she broke off to squeeze her eyes shut again before forcing herself to continue, “-we have a cottage. He and Slaughter had some business to go over once when we were on vacation there. Slaughter has been to the cottage.”

She stood up and pushed herself back from the table. “That’s all I know,” she said. “I do hope you find him.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Waverly,” Branch said gently. “I know this wasn’t easy for you.”

“It’s Ms. Chamberlain now,” she corrected. “And I need to go and get my girls.”

Branch nodded, opening the door for her. The two detectives bounded over to the team as soon as she was out of sight. “We’ve got a new location,” Henderson said. 

 

The detectives burst into the cottage with a SWAT team. Shouts of “Clear!” made their way back to Henderson and Branch, who followed behind the initial SWAT agents. 

Branch threw open a closet door, gun ready in case Slaughter was hiding in wait. “Clear!” Henderson turned the opposite way, throwing open a door on the other side of the room. The room he entered was a bathroom. Henderson checked the corners, gun still ready. The curtain was drawn around the bathtub. 

Henderson muttered unintelligibly under his breath. Perhaps it was a childhood fear of what monster might be lurking behind the curtain, or maybe too many horror movies as a young teenager, or maybe just the fact that it left only one hand holding his weapon, but he hated to draw back the curtain. _Get a grip,_ he told himself firmly. Slaughter wouldn’t be hiding in a bathtub. That was way too juvenile…

Henderson drew in his breath sharply, jumping. Heart racing, he re-holstered his weapon. “Hi,” he said, as calmly as he could, considering his racing heart. “You’re Emma, aren’t you?” 

She was sitting in the tub with her knees drawn up. Her cheek rested on her knees, hair falling over her face, rocking. She looked up when Henderson said her name. 

“We’ve been looking for you,” Henderson said. 

At this, Emma bit her lip, tears filling her eyes. “I set that fire,” she confessed, tears starting to fall. “I killed that girl. I didn’t mean for it to happen; it was an accident, I swear! Am I going to jail?” She broke down completely, sobbing hysterically. 

“It’s okay, Emma,” Henderson soothed. “We can talk about that once we get you out of here.”

She nodded, still crying, and stood shakily. Henderson held her arm as she climbed over the edge of the tub. 

“Emma, do you know when your dad left here?” Henderson asked. She shook her head. “Did he say where he was going?”

“I don’t know,” she replied. And so they were no closer to finding Slaughter, although they did get Emma back. All of the girls were safe now. 

 

“Your honor, I move for the assault charges to be dismissed,” Harper said. 

“The prosecution has ample evidence that the defendant did indeed commit assault, your honor,” Malloy argued. 

“It’s a clear case of self-defense,” Harper stated. “In fact, I’ve rarely even seen a clearer case; I’m surprised Mr. Malloy was even able to bring about a charge in the first place.”

“Okay Mr. Harper,” the judge admonished. “Enough posturing. What’s your reasoning for getting these charges dropped?”

“My client only assaulted Kevin Kirk after he broke into her house with a gun and attempted to murder her husband,” Harper stated smoothly. “He was in possession of the weapon and threatening to continue to use it when my client wrestled it away and assaulted him with it – clearly in self-defense.”

“We only have your client’s word-”

“In fact,” Harper interrupted, “Kirk has been charged with two counts of attempted murder – one for my client’s husband Agent Goren.” 

“Well, Mr. Malloy,” Judge Turcotte said tersely, “Since you would have been the one to file against Detective Kirk, I assume the assault charge against defendant Eames was meant to beef up the reading of charges?”

“Your honor,” Malloy said, “There was probable cause for these charges.”

“I’m sure there was,” Turcotte replied flatly. “Looks like self-defense to me. What about the other assault charge, Mr. Harper?”

“My client needed to restrain Mr. Waverly, if he happened to become injured resisting, that isn’t assault.”

“Happened to become injured?” Malloy asked. “Oh come on. Your client smashed his face into a brick wall.”

“If she had smashed his face into a wall, his face would smashed, not bruised,” Harper said smartly. 

“Oh very funny,” Malloy snapped. “Mr. Waverly was handcuffed; she most certainly used excessive force.”

“Care to amend the charge?” Harper asked. 

“Not a chance.”

“Okay, I’ve heard enough,” the judge said, before the lawyers could continue arguing. “I’m dismissing the assault charge against Kevin Kirk. But I’ll let a jury decide what they think about the cause of Mr. Waverly’s injury.”

“Thank you, your honor,” Harper said. 

“Yes, yes,” Turcotte grumped. “Now clear out of my chambers; you’re taking up my lunch break.”

 

“I set the fire,” Emma repeated, her eyes glued to the table. “I did it. I didn’t mean for it to happen. I didn’t want for the girl to die.”

“Emma,” Henderson said. “I need to tell you – the girl in the house, she didn’t die. She’s okay.”

“I saw the fire!” Emma yelled. “Don’t lie to me! The door was locked and she couldn’t get out!”

“Someone else went in after her and got her out, Emma,” Henderson said. “Rebecca is just fine.”

“Rebecca’s okay?” Emma repeated. She began to cry again, this time from relief. “I didn’t even mean to set the fire,” she said again. 

“Tell me, Emma,” Henderson said. “How did it happen?”

“Dad was showing me how to use a match to start up the stove,” Emma explained. “I dropped the match.”

“You dropped the match,” Henderson repeated. 

“Yes, and that’s when the fire started.”

“Emma,” Henderson said slowly, “A fallen match wouldn’t have started a fire unless there was something on the floor to help start the fire.”

“Well it did,” Emma said. “I tried throwing water on it and it just got bigger.”

Henderson looked towards the glass of the interrogation room, where his partner was on the other side. It didn’t make any sense. 

“Are you sure it was water?” Henderson asked. 

“Dad said it was.”

“Where did you get the water from?” Henderson asked. “Did you have a pail of water in the kitchen?”

“It was in a bad smelling orange container,” Emma replied. 

“It was gasoline?” Henderson demanded. 

Emma lifted her eyes from the table, confused. “What’s gas-lean? Is it like the gas that goes in cars?”

“Yes,” Henderson confirmed. “Have you never been to a... gas station, or garage, or anything like that?” 

“I mostly just stay in my room,” Emma replied. “I only know about gas for cars from the TV.”

“Emma, your dad tricked you,” Henderson said gently. “It wasn’t water you were putting on the fire; it was gas. The gas made the fire bigger.”

Emma dropped her head onto her folded arms. “Why’d he do that?” she asked in a small voice. 

“I don’t know,” Henderson replied gently. “But I intend to ask him. But first we need to find him. Do you have any idea where he went?”

“No,” Emma replied. “He kept saying that he had reached the end of the road. I don’t really know what he meant, because we weren’t driving anymore, but he said that he had one last plan. One plan for the end. But I don’t know what it was cause he didn’t tell me.”

“Thank you, Emma,” Henderson said. “That’s very helpful.”


	37. Minimal Terror

The opening arguments had been presented to the jury, and now the prosecution was moving on with presenting their case. Starting things off by going straight for the jury’s sympathy, Malloy had put Hailey Green on the stand as his first witness. 

“Hi, Hailey,” Malloy said pleasantly. 

“Hi,” Hailey answered, scanning the room for her mother. She was rewarded with a small wave and encouraging smile from the woman. 

“Hailey,” Malloy said, bringing her attention back to him. “I want to ask you about the day that you were taken from your house; the day you went to the police station.”

“Okay,” Hailey answered. 

“What were you doing that afternoon?”

“I was playing with my Barbie dolls,” Hailey replied. 

“And who did you see that afternoon?”

“Mrs. O’Donnell and Willow came over,” Hailey answered. 

“Do you see Mrs. O’Donnell in this room?” Malloy asked. Hailey pointed to Alex. “Let the record show that the witness has identified the defendant,” Malloy instructed. “So what happened when they came to your house?”

“Mrs. O’Donnell said that she was going to take me for a play date with Willow, and she went to tell my dad that we were going.”

“Did you know about this play date, Hailey?”

“No,” Hailey said. “I didn’t think there was one.”

“Did Willow know about this play date?” Malloy asked. 

“I dunno,” Hailey replied. “She didn’t talk. Not even when I asked if she wanted to play with my Barbies.” 

“So Willow was so scared of Mrs. O’Donnell she didn’t talk even when in a different room…”

“Objection!” Harper snapped, leaping to his feet. 

“Withdrawn,” Malloy said smoothly. “Hailey, did you hear what Mrs. O’Donnell said to your daddy when you were in your room with Willow?”

“No,” Hailey replied. 

“Why not?”

“Because the TV was too loud.”

“Did you turn on the TV?”

Hailey shook her head. “Mrs. O’Donnell turned it on.”

“To make sure you wouldn’t hear what was happening in your dad’s study. Withdrawn,” he added before Harper could object. “So what happened when Mrs. O’Donnell came back into the room?”

“She said it was time to go.”

“And where did you go?”

“To Mr. Townsend’s house. Mrs. O’Donnell was looking for something and then we left again.”

“Did you ask Mrs. O’Donnell where you were going?”

“Yes,” Hailey replied. 

“What did she say?”

“She didn’t tell me.”

“Hailey, how were you feeling when you were away from home with Mrs. O’Donnell?”

“Objection,” Harper called, leaping to his feet. 

“Your honor, I think it’s prudent for the jury to understand how the crime affected the victim,” Malloy explained. 

The judge paused, considering. “I’ll allow it,” he said finally. “But tread lightly Mr. Malloy.”

“Okay, Hailey. You can tell us how you felt about being taken away from your home by Mrs. O’Donnell.”

“I was scared,” Hailey said. “Mrs. O’Donnell said we were going for a play-date, but we didn’t go to her house. And she was acting kind of funny, and Willow wasn’t talking. I didn’t see my dad before leaving, so I was wondering if maybe he didn’t know about me going anyway. And then she wanted me to stay with her friend, but I didn’t know him. And neither of them were listening to me, and then he called her by a different name, and I didn’t know what was going on. So I tried to run away.”

“Thank you Hailey,” Malloy said. “Your witness.”

Harper approached the witness stand. He hated when people used children as witnesses. You can’t bully kids on the stand. 

“Hi, Hailey,” Harper said. “I’ve just got a few more questions, and then you can go and sit with your mom again. Hailey nodded. “Hailey, on the day that Mr. Malloy was asking you about, did Mrs. O’Donnell threaten you?”

“Objection!” Malloy called. 

“Your honor, the prosecution was allowed to ask the witness how the alleged kidnaping made her feel. This is to imply a frightening, violent attack. I want the jury to hear what this alleged kidnapping was really like for the witness.”

“Alleged,” Malloy huffed angrily under his breath. But he couldn’t really argue with Harper on that. 

“I’ll allow it,” the judge said. “Hailey, you can answer the question,” he said kindly to the girl. 

“I don’t know what it means,” Hailey said nervously. 

“Did Mrs. O’Donnell tell you that she would hurt you if you didn’t go with her?” Harper amended. 

“No.”

“Did she say she would hurt someone else?”

“No.”

“Were you frightened because you knew that she had already hurt someone else?”

“No,” Hailey repeated. “She just said we were going; so we went.”

“So you went with her completely willingly-”

“Objection!”

“Without any threats made or-”

“Objection! Your honor!”

Harper fell silent, glancing at Hailey, who had locked eyes with her mother, and was shrinking down into her seat. Damn. He had hoped to get through cross without frightening her. 

“Your honor,” Malloy blustered, “the charge of kidnapping stands whether the child was pulled out of a window or coerced into going willingly-”

“Then why are you objecting?” Harper interrupted innocently. “By your own argument I’m not damaging your case with this line of questioning.”

“Mr. Harper, I make the ruling here,” Turcotte said dangerously. “But,” he admitted grudgingly, “I have to agree that there’s no reason to bar this line of questioning. Continue Mr. Harper – but toe the line here; don’t cross it.”

Harper turned back to Hailey. “Sorry about all that arguing Hailey,” he began. “Mr. Malloy and I don’t get along very well – but neither of us are angry with you, okay?” 

“Okay,” Hailey agreed, relaxing slightly. Speaking directly to the witness like that was technically not allowed, but no one objected. 

“So, you went with Mrs. O’Donnell that day,” Harper confirmed. “Were you scared of her at all when you went with her?”

“No,” Hailey replied. “She’s friends with my parents. I thought it would be okay to go with her.”

“You told Mr. Malloy that you went to visit Mr. Townsend,” Harper said. “Where did you go after that?”

“Nowhere,” Hailey replied. “We were just driving. That’s when I started to get scared. Because she wasn’t talking to me, and Willow wasn’t talking, and I didn’t know where we were going.”

Harper didn’t address these statements, but instead moved on. “You also told Mr. Malloy that she wanted you to stay with her friend. Do you remember his name?”

“Dan,” Hailey replied. 

“Is this him?” Harper asked, holding up a photograph.

“Yes,” Hailey confirmed. 

“Let the record show that the witness has identified Agent Daniel Peters,” Harper stated. “What happened then, Hailey?”

“She told me to stay with Dan. I didn’t want to. I didn’t know him.”

“Is that when you tried to run away?”

“Yes,” Hailey replied. “But Dan came after me and grabbed me.”

Hailey?” Harper asked slowly, as though he were just considering this fact, “Isn’t it true that you were running down the street?”

Hailey bit her lip, scanning the room for her mother again. Harper stepped closer. “Hailey,” he said gently. “You’re not in trouble. No one is angry with you. We just need to hear where you were.”

“I was in the street,” Hailey confirmed. “But I was scared! Mommy says to not run in the streets and Mrs. O’Donnell told me to get out of the street, but I was scared! I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Hailey,” Harper soothed. “No one is angry; you’re not in trouble. When Dan grabbed you; he took you out of the street, right?”

“Yes.”

“And did he say where he wanted to go?”

“I wasn’t listening. I wanted to get away.”

“What happened then?”

“The police came,” Hailey answered. 

“Hailey, did you know that Dan was an FBI agent?”

“Objection!” Malloy snarled. “What does this have to do with the kidnapping charge?”

“I’m getting there, your honor,” Harper said. 

“Make it snappy,” Turcotte instructed. 

“Hailey?” Harper asked, turning back to her. “Did you know that Dan was with the FBI?”

“No,” Hailey replied. 

“Do you think that Agent Dan might have been trying to take you and Willow to the police station to wait for your Mommies, just like the officers did?”

“Objection!” Malloy called. “Speculation.”

“Sustained.”

“So, Hailey,” Harper said. “You didn’t know where Mrs. O’Donnell was going. Do you think she might have been taking you to the police station?”

“Objec-”

“Withdrawn. Okay, Hailey, just one more question,” Harper said. The little girls eyes were darting around nervously again. She was probably spooked by the objecting. Harper didn’t like scaring her, but he had little choice in the matter. “So Mrs. O’Donnell wasn’t mean to you, didn’t threaten to hurt anyone or actually hurt anyone while she was with you. She warned you to get out of the street so you wouldn’t get hurt and left you with an FBI agent.”

“Is there a question here, your honor?” Malloy asked. 

“Move along, Mr. Harper,” Turcotte instructed. 

“You said you were scared because no one told you what was going on,” Harper said. “It’s okay, Hailey. That’s quite understandable. But what about now? Are you scared of Mrs. O’Donnell now?”

Hailey’s eyes slid over to the defense table. Malloy leapt to his feet and objected, which was sustained by the judge, as Harper had figured it would be. But the jury had seen Hailey shaking her head. 

“No further questions.”

“Okay, Hailey,” Turcotte said kindly. “You can go to your mom now.”

Hailey fairly flew off of the witness stand and straight to her mother’s waiting arms. Harper turned to his client and nodded encouragingly. The cross examination had gone quite well. He believed they had planted the seed of doubt in the jury’s mind. 

But Alex kept thinking of how small and frightened Hailey had looked in the witness stand. This was the effect on a seven year old who’s terror had been minimal. She could only imagine what testifying would do to Willow.


	38. The Summer of 1965

“I knew it,” Bobby muttered. Mike and Carolyn stared at the disaster in awe. There were files strewn everywhere; printed papers decorated the area (since he so disliked computer screens where you could only look at one thing at a time). 

“Knew what?” Mike asked. 

“It was what Harper said,” Bobby explained. “That the prosecution seemed personal.”

“Right,” Mike agreed. “You said that he was more zealous about this case than usual.”

“More zealous about this type of case!” Bobby announced, brandishing a handful of files. 

“This type of case?”

“Can you watch Rebecca for a while?” Bobby asked. 

“Of course,” Carolyn replied. 

“I’ll be back soon,” he said. 

 

A woman who was about ten years older than Bobby pulled open the door. “Yes?” she asked. 

“Lori-Anne Malloy?” Bobby asked. 

“Actually, it’s Shepherd now,” she informed him. “I haven’t gone by Malloy in years.” 

“I’m Agent Goren,” Bobby said. “I wanted to talk to you about your brother.”

“Did something happen to Brian?” she asked fearfully. 

“No ma’am,” Bobby said. “I just wanted to ask you some questions.”

The woman stepped back to let him in. “Thank you,” Bobby said. She nodded, leading him to the living room. 

“Tea?” she asked. “Coffee?”

“No thank you,” Bobby replied. He settled down on a chair facing her. He glanced around the room collecting his thoughts. “Your kids?” he asked, indicating a photograph. 

“Yes,” she confirmed. 

“You have a lovely family.”

“Thank you.” When he didn’t say anything else, she asked, “What is it you want to know?”

“Mrs. Shepherd-”

“Lori,” she insisted. 

“Lori,” Bobby re-started, “What I want to ask you about is going to be difficult.”

“Okay,” she said nervously. 

“Your brother is prosecuting a woman right now, under multiple charges,” Bobby began. 

“Brian never talks to me about his cases,” Lori said quickly. “If you have a question about this case, you’d be better off asking someone in the DA’s office.”

“What I’m interested in knowing is why he’s so interested in prosecuting this case,” Bobby said. “Why he’s so determined to prosecute to the full extent of the law.”

“My brother is an excellent prosecutor,” Lori said proudly. “He works very hard on all of his cases.”

I’m sure he does,” Bobby said indulgently. “But he’s particularly overzealous about this type of case. And this time, I think it’s clouding his judgment in regard to whether or not this person is guilty.”

“My brother would never prosecute someone he knew was innocent,” Lori said flatly. “And I resent you implying that he would.”

“I’m sure he fully believes in this person’s guilt,” Bobby said. “But his belief is informed by his prejudice.”

“My brother isn’t prejudiced,” Lori snapped. “He prosecutes all races with just as much effort as-”

“I’m not talking about racism,” Bobby interrupted. “I’m talking about the summer of 1965.”

Lori visibly paled, her hands clenching into fists. “That was a very long time ago,” she whispered. “It’s all in the past.”

“Not for your brother,” Bobby said gently. He waited, watching Lori’s resolve crumble. 

“Brian was a pretty wild boy,” Lori began. Her hand fluttered around her mouth, as though she might block her words. “He’d been giving our parents a lot of grief. He was only eight,” she said defensively, as though Bobby had accused him of something. “He was just a hyper little boy. But my parents thought he needed more supervision.”

“They hired a nanny,” Bobby said. 

Lori nodded. “I was twelve,” she said. “I thought I was so grown up.” She broke off, a look of disgust on her face. “I mostly stayed out of the way. I didn’t know about what went on with them.”

“The nanny punished your brother,” Bobby stated. 

Lori nodded in confirmation. “But it didn’t do any good,” she said. “Brian just acted out more and more. My parents were getting so fed up with him. Brian only spoke to them when he had to. They were out a lot of the time anyway.”

“Leaving the two of you with the nanny,” Bobby interjected. 

Lori nodded again. “My parents used to scream at Brian, demanding that he explain why he acted out so much.”

“But he didn’t tell them,” Bobby said. Lori shook her head. “He told you,” Bobby realized. 

“Yes,” Lori whispered. 

“You didn’t believe him.”

“Not at first,” Lori replied, horrified. “But he was so upset, I had to do something. So I hid out of sight once, and I saw.” She shook her head, tears filling her eyes. “It was awful. So I told my parents.”

“What did they say?” Bobby asked. 

“They said, Lori, you’re supposed to be mature enough by now to know the difference between fantasy and reality. Maybe some men are sex perverts, but not a woman. Brian is obviously just angry that we hired a nanny. I can’t believe you let him drag you into this disturbing lie.” Lori looked up to meet Bobby’s steady gaze. “You have no idea how awful it was!” she sobbed. “They wouldn’t believe us, so I finally decided to go to the police myself.”

“And what did they do?” Bobby asked. 

“Nothing,” Lori spat. “They wrote him off as a trouble maker.”

“Back then,” Bobby guessed, “No one believed that a woman could sexually abuse a child.”

“It was a different world,” Lori sighed. “No one would believe back in 1965 that a woman was capable of sodomizing a child with whatever object that was convenient. People were only just starting to believe that a mother might physically abuse her own child. But sexual abuse?” Lori shook her head. “It was unheard of. I finally got her fired by hiding my mother’s jewelry in the nanny’s things. Can you believe it?” Lori demanded harshly. “Fired over some stupid decorative rocks, but my brother…” 

“It must have been a terrible ordeal,” Bobby said softly. 

“Oh it was!” Lori exclaimed. “You have no idea! It was horrifying to see; I can only imagine what Brian went through. But he still managed to clean up his act after the nanny was fired. He got into a good school; made a name for himself. And he made it his mission to get justice for others. I only wish that I had been able to protect him back then.” Lori wiped the tear tracks from her cheeks, sniffling. 

“You tried to get help,” Bobby insisted, reaching to take on of her hands in his own. “And when no one would listen, you got the nanny fired. You did everything you could.”

“It wasn’t enough,” Lori sobbed. “It could never be enough.” She took a deep steadying breath. “So if this woman you told me about was charged with sexual abuse… She deserves to rot in hell!” Lori shot up to her feet. “That woman never paid for what she did to my brother. Brian won’t let another one get away with it. And I won’t help you convince him otherwise!”

“Lori,” Bobby said, also standing. “It’s time for Brian to face what happened to him. Sending an innocent woman to prison isn’t going to make what happened to him any less painful. What happened was wrong; it was terrible; it should never have happened and I am sorry. But this isn’t the way to start healing.”

Lori balled her hand into a fist and pressed it into her mouth. Finally, she said, “How do you know this woman is really innocent?”

Bobby reached into his pocket and extracted a small handful of photographs. “This is Rebecca,” he began, setting her photo out on the table. “And this is Willow. Emma, Giselle, Taylor, Laura. All of them were kidnapped by the same man. The woman who your brother is prosecuting was trying to find them. They had all been photographed for the production of child pornography. The woman was charged with promoting and producing the images. She left the images up only because she was trying to find these missing children. She used photoshop to doctor a non-explicit image of one of the girls, which your brother determined was production of pornography, in order to weed out where the remaining girls were.”

“And were they found?” Lori asked. 

“Yes,” Bobby said. “The woman found them all. But she had to fight to do it. This little girl,” Bobby said, adding another photo to the rest, “was taken from her pedophile father by the woman your brother is charging. Her name is Hailey. She is safe with her mother now. Thanks to this person your brother is prosecuting, all of these little girls are back with their families.”

“But my brother was blinded by the child pornography and kidnapping charges,” Lori inferred. Bobby nodded. 

“How do you know so much about this?” Lori asked. “Were you the one who caught the case?”

Bobby picked up the photograph, the very same photograph he had handed Kirk all those months ago. “This is my daughter. All we cared about was getting her back. We wanted all of these girls to be safe.”

“We?” Lori asked. 

Bobby looked again to the family photograph he had commented on when he first came in, drawing Lori’s eyes with his. “Wouldn’t you do anything?”

 

Malloy spun around in his office to face Bobby. “Agent Goren,” he stated. “Is there a problem with your testimony?”

“No,” Bobby replied. “There’s a problem with this entire trial.”

Malloy sighed in frustration. “Not this again,” he snapped. “You agreed to testify.”

“Yes, I did,” Bobby said. “But I’m asking you again ADA Malloy; please drop these charges. She’s not guilty. You’re losing the jury already.”

“I’ll have them back once I put Willow Kirk on the stand,” Malloy argued. 

“Willow is fragile,” Bobby said. “She’s just been through a terrible ordeal. Testifying will do more harm than good.”

“Oh don’t start with me,” Malloy argued. “I know you’re just worried about your wife. And it will do Willow some good to face and accuse her victimizer!”

“Why?” Bobby demanded, advancing towards the ADA. “Because you never could?”

For a moment there was only silence. “You found that old police report,” Malloy realized. “I’m surprised they didn’t toss it away – just as easily as they did me.”

“I’m sorry,” Bobby said. 

“You’re sorry!” Malloy spat. “It doesn’t make any difference now! It’s been years! I’m over it!”

“You’re not over it!” Bobby countered, raising his voice to match Malloy’s. “You never could get over it! And how could anyone expect you to? It was wrong. And worse, no adult in your life tried to help you! You never faced what happened to you! But you still managed to become a prosecutor. A decent person getting justice for other victims!”

“I’m not a victim!” Malloy spat. “But yes, I am a prosecutor. I put guilty scum away!”

“Guilty?” Bobby yelled. Finally, Malloy shrank down. “You’ve done so much good,” Bobby said, quieter now. “Don’t let this bias ruin that now.”

“I… I can’t let her get away with this.”

“She’s not the one you’re after,” Bobby said softly. “Don’t you see? The one you’re after is long gone.”

Malloy faltered, his cheeks red from yelling now fading to a ghostly pallor. Bobby went over and opened the office door. 

“Brian.”

Malloy looked up. “Lori?” 

The woman launched herself at him, arms snaking around him. “I’m so sorry Brian!” she wailed. “I’m so, so sorry. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you!”

“It’s not your fault, Lori,” he whispered into her hair. “I never blamed you.”

Bobby left the room unnoticed, closing the door quietly behind him.


	39. Power

“Mommy!” Rebecca began wiggling in earnest, trying to escape Bobby’s arms. Alex spun around and blew her daughter a kiss. Rebecca grinned widely and waved eagerly. 

Bobby settled down behind the defense table, next to Mike, Carolyn, and Fernandez. “Shh,” he whispered to Rebecca. 

“You’re not allowed to be in here if you’re testifying,” Mike said suspiciously. 

Before Bobby could answer, a door opened revealing the judge. “All rise for the honorable Judge Turcotte presiding!”

Everyone got to their feet, Bobby pulling Rebecca up into his arms. Seeing everyone standing for this important man, Rebecca saluted the judge with a very comically stern look on her face. Bobby yanked her arm down, hoping Turcotte didn’t see, and Mike had to turn his snort of laughter into a cough. 

As the judge sat down, everyone except for Malloy also sat down. “The people would like to speak?” the judge asked. 

“Yes, your honor,” Malloy said. “At this time, the people feel that we cannot achieve the burden of proof for the charges of kidnapping, accessory to kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, assault, threat of bodily harm, unlawful imprisonment, production and promotion of child pornography, accessory to the promotion of the sexual performance of a minor, concealment of a deadly weapon, identity theft, and criminal trespass.”

“What about the charges of…” Turcotte glanced down at a paper in front of him, “possessing an unregistered firearm and possession of false documents?” Turcotte asked, looking back up. 

“Your honor, there is a plea agreement in place for those charges,” Harper answered, standing. “My client pleads guilty to the possession of an unregistered firearm and the possession of false documents. According to the terms of the plea agreement, my client will surrender the weapon and documents, and pay the appropriate fine for these charges.”

“The people accept these conditions?” Turcotte asked. 

“Yes, your honor.”

“In that case, I dismiss the charges of kidnapping, accessory to kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, assault, threat of bodily harm, unlawful imprisonment, production and promotion of child pornography, accessory to the promotion of the sexual performance of a minor, concealment of a deadly weapon, identity theft, and criminal trespass without prejudice. In accordance with the plea agreement, the defendant will pay the fine within thirty days and will surrender all false documents and unregistered firearms. Case dismissed.”

Turcotte rapped his gavel, and Alex spun around to embrace her family. At Turcotte’s instruction of, “Next case!” they finally broke apart, as Alex needed to go back out the way she came in, in order to be officially released. Harper left with her, and Bobby walked over to where Malloy was preparing his notes for the next case. 

“Thank you,” Bobby said to him. “You did the right thing.”

Malloy nodded. “You take care of that little girl.”

“I will.”

 

Bobby glanced out the window, scanning the people outside for no reason other than to stop his restless pacing. Rebecca’s hand was clamped tightly inside his own. Most of the people outside were moving, gone by the next time he scanned the crowd. But a few remained, waiting. 

“Mike, Carolyn,” Bobby said suddenly. 

“What is it?” Mike asked. 

Bobby transferred Rebecca’s hand to Carolyn’s. “I’ll be back in a minute honey,” he said. “I need you to back me up,” he said to Mike. 

“For what?” Mike asked, but Bobby was already heading for the door. 

“Don’t let Alex leave yet!” he called to Carolyn over his shoulder. 

Bobby headed for the court’s side entrance, Mike following behind. “What are we doing?” he asked. 

“Going around back,” Bobby said. “He had the upper hand before – we weren’t expecting it. But this time we’re ready.”

“Are you saying that Slaughter is outside?” Mike demanded. 

Bobby didn’t answer, just signaled Mike to go around the other side. He crept up, dodging between people, trying not to alert suspicion. Bobby pulled his weapon out, keeping it shadowed as best he could to not alert the people moving about their business. 

He had almost reached the man when he turned around, hand in pocket. 

“Don’t you do it!” Bobby instructed. “Take your hand out of your pocket – slowly!”

Slaughter didn’t obey; he simply smiled serenely, as if this was all part of his plan. “How did you know?” he asked. 

“That you’d be here?” Bobby asked. “You have nowhere else to go. No family waiting to shelter you. And shooting her on the courthouse steps? It would have a certain poetic justice, wouldn’t it?”

Slaughter smiled again. “I suppose it would. But you’re here to stop me?”

“That’s right,” Bobby agreed. “There’s nowhere to go Slaughter. Your plan was brilliant; you really had us there for a while. But it’s over now. It’s time to give yourself up.”

“Why don’t you end this, once and for all?” Slaughter asked. “You could do it you know.”

“That’s what I intend to do,” Bobby said. “When I arrest you.”

“No, no, no,” Slaughter said, the way one might correct a small child. “That’s not what I mean. How could you know it was truly over unless you finished it yourself?”

“I’m going to arrest you, and then hand you over to the feds. You’re not going to escape prosecution this time, Slaughter.”

“Money buys favors you know,” Slaughter suggested. “You’ll never know for sure unless you finish it. Don’t you want justice for those little girls? For your little girl?”

“Justice, yes,” Bobby replied. “But not revenge.”

“No?” Slaughter asked. “You know, it was so easy really. I surprised myself with how easy it was to carry out my plan. Honestly, what kind of parents are so inept that I can send a couple of junkies to snatch their kid right in front of their noses?” Seeing Bobby flinch, Slaughter continued. “She was such a delight, little Rebecca. And so easy to turn. It just took a couple of suggestions, just a nudge in the right direction, and she was fully convinced that her parents didn’t love her anymore. Is that because the two of you work so often? You’re not around to show her that you care?”

“Enough,” Bobby said, as calmly as he could. “That’s enough. You’re done. Take your hand out of your pocket slowly.”

“Why don’t you just do what I know you want to do? You can talk of the difference between justice and revenge, but why not just do it? You have the power to do it.”

And then he pulled the gun out, pointing it… But Bobby ran towards him anyway, lunging forward to grab his arms, ignoring Mike’s shouting warnings. Seeing Bobby not even try to level his own weapon, and instead rush towards him, Slaughter’s eyes opened wide in surprise. In the struggle, he dropped the gun. Bobby grabbed Slaughter’s arms and yanked them behind his back before he could have a chance to pick up his weapon.

“Yes, Jonas,” Bobby said as he placed the cuffs on him. “I know that I could kill you and get away with it. And armed with that knowledge, I am choosing to let you live. That’s the power that I have over you.”

Mike was suddenly at his side, and they hauled Slaughter forward together, handing him off to agents Thompson and Bole who had come to the trial to hear the outcome. “Your gun, Bobby,” Mike chastised. “Why didn’t you shoot him? When he turned towards you, it would have been completely justified!”

“It’s what he wanted,” Bobby explained. 

“I’m sure he would have settled for killing you!” Mike snapped. 

“He wouldn’t have,” Bobby replied. 

“And how do you know that for sure?”

“Because that’s not part of the plan.”

 

Jonas Slaughter was sentenced to spending the rest of his life in a federal prison. All of the people who had been involved with the fake adoption agency and child pornography pedophile ring had been charged. Grant Waverly was facing life for all of the charges of child pornography and kidnapping for each of the six girls he’d put up for adoption that he’d gotten from Slaughter. 

Blake Green was charged with one count of production for each explicit photograph of his daughter. However, since most photographs weren’t explicit and he never actually molested her, he was eligible for parole in five years, possibly even sooner with good behavior. His wife moved away, taking Hailey, and leaving no forwarding address. 

Each of the kidnapped children were returned to her parents. The families had all flown back home shortly after being found. However, since Emma Slaughter didn’t have any other family willing to take her, she had been sent to a group home for troubled teens. Bobby had made sure that the place had a stellar reputation. Emma had a very limited experience with anything outside of the room where she had grown up. The psychologists and counselors at the home were going to try their best to help her adjust. 

Kirk was standing trial in California for attempted murder. His lawyer was arguing extreme emotional disturbance. Kirk had sent Carol and Willow back to New York without him, saying that he didn’t want Willow’s life to be on hold any longer. 

Agents Peters, Bole, and Thompson had returned to New York, along with detectives Langley, Fisher, and Fernandez. Peters couldn’t wait to get back and see his wife and son. Bole had sat with Fernandez on the way back. As it turned out, Bole had an obnoxious sense of humor too, and the two spent the entire way back joking and laughing. Mike had high hopes that this agent would end up taking the brunt of his partner’s bad jokes in the future. 

Mike and Carolyn had sat in the back with Bobby, Alex, and Rebecca. The little girl had climbed back and forth between her parents for most of the ride, content to be with both of them again. And of course, the two parents couldn’t have been any happier than back together with their daughter. 

It would be a long road to recovery for all involved. But they were well on their way. Bobby looked over at Alex, who had fallen asleep with Rebecca curled up on her lap, and smiled. Yes, they were well on their way.


End file.
